


Daughter

by ahandfulofobsessions



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Adopted Children, Anal Sex, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, M/M, Oral Sex, Psychological Torture, Smut, characters may be ooc from time to time, child doing some fucked up stuff, for Hisoka and Illumi standards, i've read so many fics i have no idea what they're like in canon, not for my standads tho, really good parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2018-08-23 09:05:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8322067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahandfulofobsessions/pseuds/ahandfulofobsessions
Summary: Illumi and Hisoka have been married for 12 years now and although they're not planning, it may be the right time to have a child, but for such a peculiar couple, an adoption could not be made in normal terms.





	1. Wicked Plan

**Author's Note:**

> So, in this Illumi is 38 and Hisoka 42 (oh boy, Hisoka is probably the hottest creature on earth at this age), they're married for a long time and are actually happy. Perhaps one day I'll write one about how they got together.  
> It is my first attempt on wrinting fanfic in English, I hope it's good enough and if you notice some major mistake just let me know in the comments :)  
> I'm not sure how long it will be.  
> Oh, and it has sex because of reasons.  
> Hope you like it! <3

Frustration ran through his veins, causing Illumi a headache as he’s lying on the airplane’s sit. The intruder didn’t get to stop the assassination from happening, but had caused much more trouble and work than what was expected. Moto, Illumi had just found out, was a security guard for Mrs. Takenaka, head of a huge azian drug company that has just now started on the Yorbian market, and he supposed to have the day off. Not that the guy would have changed any of Illumi’s plans, he isn’t particularly strong or smart, wouldn’t even be worthy of a note for special attention, the problem was that he knew Illumi was coming. The Zoldyck family had been contact by an agent of the pharmaceutical drug companies that rule the market in the Yorbian continent and requested that the most skilled assassin of the family was sent to end Mrs. Takenaka’s life. Once Illumi stepped in Takenaka’s mansion, it was clear they had been warned, the house was empty.

Using Milluki’s help, it wasn’t a great problem to find out the current location of his target, and it took Illumi less than 3 hours to have it done with. They proceed then to research on how these men got the information in the first place. Going through the target’s personal phone, they found interesting calls that tracked to a number Milluki’s investigations linked to the owner of the major slice of Yorbian pharmaceutical industry, but the last one was made 5 days ago, way before anyone contacted the Zoldycks, which meant that the call contained nothing on the assassination itself. It was on one of the bodyguards’ phone that they found a call received in the time between the agreement with the assassins and Illumi’s arrival at the mansion, conveniently followed by a call to the same hotel they then moved to. The number belonged to someone registered as Moto and the text conversations quickly proved that Moto knew about the assassination plan and was the one to share the information. It was easy to understand how the news leaked, Moto had been contacted by the same number on Mrs. Takenaka’s phone right after the deal with the Zoldycks and the number was registered in his phone as “boss”.

Knowing the calls from Moto came from Yorknew City, Illumi went to the airport and took the first flight, immediately calling his father to report the problems and the conclusion of the mission. He didn’t particularly care for who is betraying who in the pharmaceutical industry, but having his father calling him back to tell that “the boss” had paid enough for them to pretend nothing of this happened had Illumi feeling like something was missing. He was already in the flight he had taken just for the sake of killing this one bodyguard and was somewhat excited to look into his eyes and see the understanding that there’s no playing around with the Zoldycks. The other man had made a deal interesting enough to protect himself from the Zoldyck wrath, but this Moto, he certainly doesn't have the money to do the same. Illumi was almost arriving at Yorknew City when it hit him that perhaps he should let Hisoka know he was coming home earlier.

 

\-----

 

Hisoka has been married for 12 years now, time enough to know pretty well that something went wrong with Illumi’s mission, just for the way he sounded at the phone -and the fact that he changed his precious schedule. He likes to treat his assassin well so he made him a meal, prepared a bath and, of course, prepared himself, for his body is the perfect way of calming Illumi’s troubled mind. It didn’t surprise the magician when his husband took all of this in the right order -first the sex, then the food and then the bath-, that was one of the reasons their marriage was doing so well.

 

\----

 

“Do you think it’s wrong if I still kill him?” Illumi asked looking down at Hisoka, on whose chest he was currently laying. 

“We’ve known each other for so long, are you waiting for me to tell you to NOT kill someone? ♥"

The assassin smiled at the absurd of it.

“Illu, follow him, torture him, kill him as slowly as you can and let me watch while you do it. ♥”

“You can be so romantic from time to time.” He replied with his usual deadpan face.

The clown shifted them, putting himself on top of Illumi and drowned a laugh in kisses.

 

\---

 

“Tell me again, why are we in Heavens Arena? ♦”

“We’re painting your room.”

They were standing in front of the huge building, Illumi holding an open container of white paint that couldn’t even cover one of the walls in Hisoka’s suite.

The clown had never made a trip weirder than this one. One could define Illu as not really fond of Heavens Arena, to say the least. The assassin decided he wanted to go and paint the walls on the suite. Hisoka thought in a million ways they could paint the walls there, not one of them involved that bucket of paint. Why did he pick such a small amount of paint? Why did he open it already? Why paint it white when this is already the color of the walls? Why would they do it if the administration of the tower did it already? It all sounded too much like a prank, but still, it was Illu. Hisoka was taken out of his thoughts by Illumi’s words.

“I’m doing it as a present; you said you’d like to watch.” Illumi stepped back and bumped into a woman who was just about to enter the tower, spilling the paint over her and her daughter.

The assassin is a great actor, but Hisoka recognized the fake expression on his face, besides, of course, the fact that Illumi was always well aware of his surroundings and would never bump or spill something on someone unless it was on purpose. And Hisoka knew that woman, she was a floor master, her name was Lexia, a powerful enhancer that took his attention at some point but did not participate in the tournament they supposed to fight one another because she was pregnant and thought it would not be healthy.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what…”

“It’s ok, we’re gonna survive. But I’m afraid you’re gonna need to buy more paint.” She pointed to the now white floor in front of them.

Illumi smiled sweetly at the woman and then knelt in front of the kid, wiping some white paint from her cheek. “Can I help with that, since I made all the mess?”

“Yes, please.” She stared at the assassin’s wide black eyes and then smiled. 

“Minke, my dear, you didn’t suppose to say ye…”

“No, it’s quite alright, Lexia. What can we do to make it up to you? ♣” Hisoka interrupted her as nicely as he could.

“Oh, Hisoka, you shouldn’t mind. It wasn’t really that much paint.”

“You know each other” Illumi said, standing up.

“Yeah, I’m also a floor master. But it has been so long, I’m surprised Hisoka even remembers me. I’m Lexia, by the way.” She offered a hand and the assassin took it.

“My pleasure, I’m Illumi, Hisoka’s husband.”

“So, is Minke the one that stopped our fight, uh? ♠” Hisoka petted the girl’s head as he laugh. “What do you think, a coffee? On us. Then Illu can help her to get rid of the paint. ♣"

 

\-----

 

Illumi was really chatty and acted interested during all the time they spent with the two girls. The child was 6 and quite a smart one, Hisoka was pleased with her reactions to his tricks and, on the magician’s opinion, Illu’s care for the child while cleaning her was the only true thing he did the whole afternoon. 

“Are you two living in here? ♦”

“No, we’re just here ‘cause I’ve decided to take a fight. It was yesterday, we’re spending one more night and then going back to Yorknew City, where we live with her father.”

“Oh, I’ve never got to meet your husband. ♥”

“I think it’s for the best. Moto would probably be too afraid of you.”

 

\-----

 

Illumi was surprised to not hear a word about the realization Hisoka probably had when she spoke of Moto. His husband had talked about how Lexia was only 18 when she became floor master and how upset he was when, one year later, she missed the tournament because of the pregnancy. He also talked about the coffee they had and how the strawberry and cream cake was just the same as he remembered, and even about the improvements on the buildings’ façades, but not a word about Moto.

When they arrived at the suite, Illumi reached to the whisky bottle on the side table next to the couch. He served for the two of them, back turned to Hisoka. 

“I guess you didn’t like my present.”

He felt the magician approaching him from behind, two strong but gentle hands touching his waist and then suddenly pulling him back to meet Hisoka’s wide body, letting the assassin feel the hardness between the other’s legs. After so many years, that’s still a way of putting him in the mood almost immediately. Illumi’s breath betrayed him when Hisoka slid the black hair all to one side, mouth next to his ear.

“Oh, I loved it… Can’t you feel? ♥”

Hisoka guided one hand to the front of his husband’s pants and was pleased to know that this kind of approach still works as easy as in the beginning. He opened Illumi’s pants, shoving his hands in the man’s underwear and setting his hardening cock free, pants slowly sliding down. He licked the assassin’s neck and ear, leaving pleasant stripes of hot saliva all the way, and stroke him as he asked: “Please, tell what you’re gonna do to him. What show am I about to see? ♦”

Illumi gathered the strength to start talking as well as he could, trying to overpower the sensation on his cock. “I’m gonna get close to his family, make they trust me… Once -uh- once they do and he can’t talk them out of it… Once I’m in their heads – uh…”

“Yes, my dear, once you control them, what? ♣” Hisoka was grinding roughly against Illumi’s bottom, through his clothes, his own breath becoming unsteady. “Then I’ll let him know who I am… I’ll put him through hell when he -uh- discover in what kind of danger… -oh my- what kind of danger he has put his family in… Hisoka, I’m gonna come…”

“No, you’re not. You’ll hold and tell me more. ♠” Hisoka stopped stroking him and got a tight grip on Illumi’s throbbing dick. “Go on… ♥”

After a loud moan of both frustration and pleasure, he did proceed: “I’ll make him give his own life so I spare them… I’ll make him kill himself just for the power he knows I have and -uh- he… he will remember to the very last second that he is nothing… he will know that even then, even doing what I want, he has no way of make sure I won’t kill them…”

“Oh my, how devilish of you… how wrong… ♥” Hisoka was back to stroke him, enjoying the thickness of it in his skilled hand. The other hand turned the assassin’s head just enough so the magician was able to kiss him and bite his bottom lip, strong hand holding his jaw, leaving red marks where the fingers pressed.

Illumi came moaning and bucking on Hisoka’s grip, white liquid covering the magician’s hand and dripping into the wood of the table in front of them. He felt Hisoka letting go of him, the hand on his jaw pulling him towards the floor roughly. “Get on your knees. ♦”

He did so and watched the pink haired man taking a dripping cock out of his pants, holding it in one hand. The hand dirty of Illumi’s cum reached to the assassin’s face, thumb pressed into his lips, parting them. Illumi licked his own taste off of Hisoka’s finger and the magician made his way to the black hair, leaving cum all over Illumi’s face. 

He pulled the long hair strongly, forcing Illumi to look up, positioning his cock right in front of the man’s parted lips and then pushing his head forward. The assassin felt Hisoka’s hot member entering his mouth and making its way to his throat. He took it and started to do the best he could with his tongue, sucking the side of his cheeks in, provoking suction. It didn’t take long until Hisoka’s cum filled his mouth as the man thrust into it for the last few times, holding him still by the hair and making him swallow it all.

Hisoka was still on the feeling of his recent orgasm, yet to regain control of his breath, when he knelt before his lover, taking the long-haired man in his arms and kissing his mouth. “You know, now you’re as dirty as your wicked little plan. ♥”


	2. Strange Little Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of Illu's plan consist in, well... making friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope in this one Illu is a little less OOC, but he's got to do what he's got to do hhahaha  
> Soon this thing will start to get a shape, I promise. :P

Illumi was setting the table when the bell rang. He had invited Lexia and her daughter and they appeared on time, which the man appreciated. To entertain someone in such a social situation was not among the assassin’s main abilities or desires, but Hisoka had grown so fond of the idea of playing with these people that he didn’t feel like spoiling it. If Illu would be honest to himself, it was kind of cool that his husband enjoyed so much his little plan. He is not used to be the spontaneous one and it’s nice to see things a little different, although that’s not really important for him. It took only two days for the woman to call the number he so willingly gave her after the incident in Heavens Arena, which was in fact less than he’d expected.

  
Waiting on the hall was a beautiful woman, dark hair cut short, framing her strong face, green eyes highlighted by the olive skin. She was wearing a flower pattern dress, long enough to cover her feet, but showing muscle arms, leaving no doubt of her devotion to training. There was also a little girl, holding the straps of fabric that kept a backpack in place, she had a hat on, brim so wide that it bent covering almost all of her face. The man smiled to greet them. “Hey, come in, please.”  
Both the girls stepped into the apartment, the mother taking the hand Illumi offered her. Hisoka appeared from the kitchen and walked towards the woman, smiling. “We’re so glad you called. ♠”

  
“Oh my, it’s my pleasure. We were actually very excited that you two wanted to see us, Minke couldn’t stop talking about you guys.”

  
When the woman turned her attention to the clown, Illumi lowered himself in front of the little girl, a hand pulling the brim slightly so he could look at her face. One day her features will be as strong as her mother’s, but now her cheeks are round from baby fat, giving the kid an innocent look that the older woman’s cheek bones and jaw wouldn’t allow. The child’s eyes were big, light brown almost matching the skin, and they stared at the man sharply, watching the smile he directed her with something of a judgmental knowledge in them. Illumi was taken by surprise for the lack of response to his pretended affection and when he felt the undeniable accusation in her eyes, his face dropped. His eyes were back to the inexpressive blackness they are when he does anything but faking. She then smiled. The girl moved forward, leaving the hat behind and pressing a kiss to the assassin’s cheek, hanging herself up his neck in a sweet hug that gave away nothing about what had just happened.

  
After guide the woman to the bathroom, Hisoka approached them and petted the girl’s head. “Is it true that you’re the one who wanted to call in the first place? ♣”

  
Minke slowly shifted her gaze from black eyes to yellow ones without dropping the smile. “Yeah.”

  
“Well, glad you like us. Illu did talk a lot about you. ♦”

  
“Illu…” She repeated it in a low voice, turning to the long-haired man, touching his hand with her little fingers. “Can I call you Illu?”

  
The gentle touch brought the assassin back from the course of his thoughts and he took his hand away with a sudden move that seemed to scare the girl. She took a step back, eyes filling with tears.

  
“D-don’t cry… I just… It’s ok. You can call me Illu if you want. Sorry.” He held her hand gently. Under his touch, Minke seemed to calm down immediately. The way she would go back and forth in reactions - Illumi thought - so fast, so obviously… It has been awhile since he was around children, but that’s not how they used to respond. And more, the way she acted conveyed feelings the man could only describe to himself as deeply intended. Soon enough she turned her attention to the clown.

  
“I wanted to come to tell you I know how you do your tricks. It’s not magic.”

  
“Oh, do you? ♥” Hisoka had found this kid so interesting on their first meeting, she spoke certain of each word and now it was no different, she was absolutely sure of knowing his secret and it showed. Oh, how interesting would it be to be around her for some time. Perhaps after they were finished he would still keep an eye on her, being that sharp in such a young age was a signal his nature would not allow him to ignore.

  
“Your apartment is lovely.” Lexia was back to the room, politely smiling at them.

  
“Oh, allow me to show you the whole thing then. Hisoka and Minke seem to have a lot to talk about.” The black-haired man stood up and signed to the woman to follow him.

 

 

\-----

 

 

“Tell me then, how do I do it? ♠”

  
“You use nen.”

  
Hisoka grinned widely. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. ♣”

  
Minke lifted her eyebrows and widened her eyes. “Oh, but I do. I can do it too.”

  
“Show me. ♥”

  
“Not now, mom doesn’t allow me, she would feel it. But I wanna show you, just-”

  
They were interrupted when the other two were finished with their tour through the not very big apartment. At this point Hisoka could feel himself salivating, could this one be one of his new fruits after all? One thing was an interesting smart child, other was an interesting smart child that could use nen at only six. The clown had to close his eyes for a moment just to control his own excitement, he didn’t want to spoil his husband’s plans by scaring the mother.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Minke was in the living room watching TV while the adults were talking not far away.

  
“I was so happy when she insisted for me to call you two, you know. Since Peter’s disappearance it’s been a struggle to make things, well, normal.”

  
“Who’s Peter? ♦”

  
Lexia looked at her daughter and took a sip of tea before answering. “He’s this friend of her, a boy of only 7 that vanished like 5 months ago. They were very close and were together right before it happened. They ran from his home during the night and got lost in town. Minke was alone when we found her, no one has seen Peter ever since.”

  
Illumi’s gaze was fixed on the strange little girl quietly sitting on his couch. “Has it been difficult to her?”

  
“She never really talks about it, but, you know, we’re trying to make sure she doesn’t feel guilty or anything in the future. It could fuck up her mind.”

  
“So it’s good that she took interesting in us? ♣”

  
“Oh, absolutely. She’s a really introspective child, teachers say she passes most of her time in school by herself and tend to fall asleep easily. At home is just the same, she talks a bit with me but rarely exchanges a word with Moto, she passes most of the time sleeping or watching TV.”

  
“But she wanted to come here. ♥” Hisoka leaned slightly over the table, both hands under his chin, a smile from ear to ear.

  
“Yeah, she was up and ready to come. I’ve never seen her doing that, but I suppose it’s because we met in Heavens Arena, she really loves that place and was excited to have someone from there so close to home.”

  
“That’s lovely. Make sure you two come more times. ♥”

  
“What about your husband? Did you tell him you were coming here?”

  
“Oh, no. Actually, I’m not seeing much of Moto these days. He’s so buried in work. He was working for a guy in Azia, but it seems he came back a few days ago. He supposed to meet us at Heavens Arena but there was some kind of problem.”

  
Probably any chat with the little girl would be more interesting than this, although for Illumi even looking at the blank ceiling would, but to gain this woman’s trust was a crucial part of the plan. “What does he do?”

  
“He’s a bodyguard.”

  
“Oh-” How did he intend to continue? Small talk was not his forte and he was pleased to have Hisoka taking the lead in these situations. “Illu is an assassin. ♥” Ok, not this time, now he was pissed off. Why did Hisoka just do this? The gaze he directed to the pink-haired man was shady to say the least.

  
“Oh, I- I know that…”

  
“Do you?” The assassin was preparing himself to deal with a very scared woman and take his plan to a more physical type of control when she nodded.

  
“I mean, I’m not stupid. Everyone knows Hisoka is married to a Zoldyck… People just don’t know who you are, you do hide your face very well.”

  
Illumi’s smile was still fake, but this time he was actually satisfied for that was the only enjoyable thing the woman said the whole afternoon. “And you’re ok with that?”

  
“Well, you just kill if there’s money or information, right?” Illumi nodded. “Then I guess we’re gonna be ok. I mean, I don’t believe there’s someone willing to pay for my death right now and, unless you want information about karate, I’m not of much help either.” She laughed before finishing her tea.

 

 

\-----

 

 

They said goodbye hours later, in front of the car the woman had parked two blocks away from the apartment, both of the men waiting their visitors to enter the vehicle before going back home.

  
“Illu” The girl gently pulled his hand and waited for him to look down. “I forgot my hat. Can we go get it?”

  
A weird sensation crossed Illumi’s body when he smiled at her, like if he supposed to have time alone with her but had been avoiding it, though he didn’t avoid anything and there’s nothing to be said between them. “Sure. You two wait a moment here, we’ll be back soon.”

  
Minke offered both arms to the man in an explicit plead to be carried. The assassin accepted her request silently and walked towards his home.

  
“Why do you lie?” The child’s breath was warm against his ear.

  
“What do you mean?”

  
“Why do you pretend to be this person when you’re with her?”

  
“I’m not pretending, this is called ‘being polite’.”

  
They were entering the building, she used a foot to press the elevator’s button.

  
“Are you always polite?”

  
They entered the elevator. Illumi pressed to his floor and leaned back in the mirror wall, holding the child in front of him, looking direct to her. Somehow they were both aware he didn’t need to keep the smiling mask and there was no surprise when the eyes staring at her were again two pools of pure black emptiness. “I’m polite when I need to be.”

  
“But I don’t get it. Why do you need to be polite to my mother?”

  
The man only sighed, gaze inexpressibly fixed somewhere passed the girl.

  
“I like when you look like this. You look so… dead.”

  
Illumi walked towards his door.

  
“It’s scary. I like you much more this way.”

  
“Why would I care?” The assassin immediately regretted how harsh he’d sounded. How did he expect his plan to succeed in the “more fun way” if he scared the little girl? He softened his expression before speak. “Sor-”

  
A loud laugh stopped him. The girl was staring at him with delight in her eyes and a grin that could easily compete with the ones Hisoka did when watching his fruits fighting. “Why do you want her to like you?”

  
The assassin opened the door and put Minke on the floor. There was no point to pretend anymore, if that meant the girl would tell her mother something was wrong, he simply would use his needles and control them old fashion way. “Because I want to. If you think you can make me say anything I don’t intend to, you’re very mistaken. Just look for your hat, your mother is waiting.”

  
Minke grabbed the hat lying on the couch and they silently walked back to the car. They were just a block away from the other two when she squeezed the man’s hand and said: “Whatever it is that you’re doing, I would like to help.” The assassin did not respond.

 

 

\-----

 

 

Illumi and Minke had left, leaving Hisoka alone with Lexia. The clown propped himself on the car side, looking down to his new friend.

  
“Isn’t it bad for her that daddy is away after such a traumatic event? ♥”

  
“I guess… I’ve tried talking Moto into staying, but this boss of him… He’s really faithful to that man.”

  
“And you don’t like it. ♦”

  
“Well… I do love him, but this can be really annoying sometimes. I mean, I’m working my ass off to make things as normal as possible for Minke and I wish she would not spend so much time with nannies she doesn’t even know, but he’s away and it’s not like I can simply give up the job I’ve been doing all these years… I would like him home with her like it used to be, you know.”

  
The man was looking silently at her, apparently searching for words to respond to that. She had sounded very exasperated and was now covering part of her face with a hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be listening to this, how embarrassing.”

  
“It’s quite alright, you seem to have a lot to get out of your chest, don’t you? ♣” She nodded. “We can talk if you want to. I bet Illu would want that too, he’s very shy and I’ve never seen him trying so hard to get close to someone. ♠”

  
“Oh, yeah? I’m not gonna lie, I used to think very different of you two. You guys made fame, a murderer one.”

  
“It’s not a lie, that fame. ♥”

  
“I know that, what I mean is that you’re not the creepy weirdo people talk about.” The woman directed him a look, clearly wondering if she had offended him.

Hisoka laughed sweetly. “I like you. ♠”

  
“I like you too. And I like your husband. I would expect him to be a cold not very human being, but he’s so nice. And his way with kids, so cute.”

  
“He does have a way with kids, doesn’t he? I’ve been trying to get him to consider a child for so long now, he would be a wonderful parent. ♥”

  
“He doesn’t want?”

  
“I guess he’s scared they would grow and leave him, because of how he feels about his brothers. Illu had to deal with an empty nest in a very young age, he was basically a parent for the younger boys. ♦”

  
“Perhaps Minke is of some help in your case, look how natural he looks holding her hand like that?”

  
Hisoka smiled watching his husband walking with that beautiful child. He’d never really thought about having kids, that had been just another lie, but it was undeniable that the sight made his heart warm. He and Illu would raise such an amazing child together, a child free of the fear to kill, strong, well trained, with all the possibilities and chances he never had. Of course, they could always be like Killua, a disappointment, but that’s probably a risk you have to take, and since Silva and Kikyo took this risk 5 times, it’s no surprise they had one problem child.

  
When the assassin came next to him, Hisoka kissed his lips tenderly.

  
“What is that about?” The black-haired man smiled, letting go of the child’s hand when she was close to the car.

  
The clown did not answer, instead he talked to the woman in front of him. “What do you girls think of joining us for a movie tomorrow? ♥”

  
The kid’s face got bright and she almost lost her hat again. “Yes!”

  
“Oh- I’ll be working… I’m sorry.”

  
“BUT MOM!”

  
“It’s not that I don’t want to, Minke. I just can’t not go to work, we’re in the middle of something important.”

  
The little girl was genuinely crying, tears streaming down the round cheeks, sobbing.

  
“We could take her with us if you allow. It would be good for her and I’m sure Illu has plenty of experience in what to do in an emergency. ♣” Hisoka didn’t try to hide the wink he shared with the woman. Illumi’s nose wrinkled when she smiled in return.

  
“YES!” Minke hugged the clown’s legs, eyes closed and a smile on, a very unusual behavior for her. Her mother was laughing when answered: “Well, I guess I’ll have to allow it, look at this happy little girl we have here.”

 

 

\-----

 

 

“You’re very bad at bonding. ♥”

  
“You’re very good at it.” When the elevator’s door opened, the long-haired man went ahead, not waiting for his husband.

  
“Are you jealous? ♣”

  
“Don’t be stupid.” Illumi sat on the couch, feeling more tired than he would probably be after running a marathon. “I should just put a needle in each one of them, this whole theatre is ridiculous. All this time with you, I guess you’re finally getting into my head.”

  
Hisoka sat by his side, sliding a hand around him, nose touching the man’s cheek. “Come on, Illu, I’m really liking this. It was so kind of you to think of me. This is just the perfect gift. ♥”

  
The assassin just sighed and let his eyes fell shut. Hisoka’s hold was good enough for him to let go of any intend for disagreement. He had no plans to get up from the couch any time soon.


	3. The girl's power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi and Hisoka take Minke to have some fun out of school. She is really excited to show them what she can do with nen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, there is a Tumblr, of course: http://ahandfulofobsessions.tumblr.com/  
> Hope you like the chapter, it won't be long to the next one! =)

The clown got to the address Lexia gave him a few minutes before 1pm. He was looking for a children’s school and was undeniably in the right place, judging by the fence that was actually oversized crayons of many colors. One might had thought wiser to wear something less flashy than Hisoka’s signature outfits when intending to look trustworthy, but not him. Had the outfit not been enough, he decided to wear the highest heel he could find at home, full face done, special attention was paid to the eyes, black eyeliner making them even more outstanding. If he would play this peaceful role today, he would at least shock some old fashion people.

He went straight to the reception. The old lady was turned to the computer when the man spoke. “Hi, I’m here to pick up Minke. ♦”

Hisoka had to laugh of the expression she made when finally looked at him, her jaw dropped a little and he could in fact hear the breath she was taking being cut short from the surprise. “Your document, please… uh- sir…”

The man opened his wallet and gave her a document that proved his identity. “Alright, Mr. Morow, just wait here a second.”

The woman grabbed a phone and went to a far corner inside her counter, she almost whispered but Hisoka’s trained ears could hear the whole thing. “Mrs. Van, the man who supposed to pick up Minke is here. (…) Yeah, it is. (…) I think you should come and see him. (…) Well… I-I don’t think he should enter the school… (…) B-Because… You should see him… (…) Alright.”

It seems like he got what he wanted, the clown loved when his figure made such an impression. He made his most perverted grin when she hung up and looked at him. She shivered. “Please, follow me.”

They passed through an entrance right beside her, and not long after that, he was asked to wait near the door the lady then proceeded to enter. In the corridor, Hisoka noticed, there was a poster with a boy’s face, presumably a missed kid, also presumably Peter. All around the poster were a series of drawings, probably made by the children of the school. He decided to look for Minke’s drawing, for what Lexia had said they were close, so there must be one of those made by the little girl. It didn’t take long for him to find the one, it was the first right below the poster. The theme was a little different from the others, while most of the drawings had Peter smiling, reunited with his family and people from the school, Minke’s had Peter with a blank expression, standing among a bunch of different sized rats while the girl herself was sitting close to them. That was rather peculiar, but so was the little girl, it was probably some weird game they played.

Five months is a lot of time for a kid lost in the middle of this huge city, Hisoka wondered if Minke would even react when she realized he wouldn’t come back.

“You can come in now.” The reception lady walked away, not looking at him half of a time more than the strictly needed. The man excused himself before entering the room.

Mrs. Van, the principal, got to her feet and smiled to the clown, offering a hand that Hisoka promptly accepted. “Mr. Morow, pleased to meet you. Minke will be here in no time. May I offer you something to drink? We have tea, coffee or water. Oh, we have cherry soda too, it was one of the kid’s birthday today.”

She signed for him to sit in a chair right in front of her desk. “Cherry soda would be good. ♥”

“You’re one of mine then. Shall we?” She served them both the soda and sat back at her chair. “Minke is excited, such a good thing to see. You should see the way she told me she wouldn’t be here for the afternoon ‘cause Illumi and Hisoka were taking her out. It was really adorable.”

“Oh, good. As far away from problems as she can be, that’s what we all want. ♣”

“Lexia was excited too, she spoke well of you and your husband. I just want to tell you I’m also really grateful that you two took some time to make Minke feel better.”

“You see, I didn’t get to know Minke before, is she different? I’m really happy that we somehow do her good, but how was it for her? About Peter, I mean. ♠”

“She didn’t change her ways in most things, you know. She was always quiet, always very lonely.” The woman smiled as if remembering something good. “It’s not unusual to find her sleeping behind a cabinet or in the restrooms… It’s more when we speak about Peter. She cries and refuses to talk. She’s silent, but, as you might have noticed, she’s very sure of what comes out of her mouth. And about Peter she just refuses… We fear this may come from guilt, maybe she was the one to give the idea of going out in the middle of the night, maybe she feels she supposed to be the one to go missing… I don’t know. All I know is that it’s good to see her taking interesting in someone after Peter.”

Hisoka let an understanding smile shape his lips. “We’re glad to help. ♥”

Minke entered the room, running towards the clown, jumping to hug him on the chest, burying her face on his shirt. “Hisoka!” The man smiled and adjusted her to his lap, caressing her chin with a hand. “You look so pretty! I love the makeup!” She kissed the star shaped paint on his cheek.

One more glass of cherry soda later, they left the principal’s office, Minke excitedly waving over Hisoka’s shoulder. When they passed through the reception, the man still carrying the little girl hugged at him, Minke took advantage of her position to stick her tongue out to the rude lady who had called Hisoka a “weirdo” when picking her up from the classroom. She was so proud to be leaving school with someone like him that for the first time she wished the other kids were there to see her.

 

\-----

 

“Illu is coming, right?” The girl looked up, waiting for the painted man to return the look. Hisoka’s expression was sweet, eyes almost closed in a smile that used all of his face, nose wrinkled, lips stretched.

“Right. He’s finishing a job and will meet us at the restaurant. ♥”

“Oh- Does he work a lot?” Minke lowered her gaze to the pink claws around her hand and kept it there. Her tone slightly changed from before, less excited.

“Yeah. Nowadays, people realized he’s the most talented of them all and he’s hired even more. ♦”

“Are you sure he’s gonna make it? To meet us...”

He laughed to himself. “Of course, my dear. Illu is always on time, had him found that this job would take more time, he would have left home earlier, that’s all. ♣”

“What does he work with?”

“People hire him to kill other people. ♠”

“WHAT?” The girl stopped in the middle of their walk, excitement back to her eyes. “Can someone do that?”

This time the clown laughed so hard he threw his head back. “What? Hire an assassin to get rid of someone? ♦”

“Being paid to kill people, like, for real.” She looked very comic with her eyes widened and doing weird gestures with her free hand.

“Illu’s whole family does that. ♥”

Her dropped jaw soon was brought to a smile. “That’s what I wanna do when I grow up. Assassin… That’s amazing!”

Hearing her, Hisoka felt his body tingling, heart jumping in his chest. The girl was mouthwatering and this time he didn’t deny himself the pervert grin.

“That’s so creepy, Hisoka.”

 

\--

 

When they arrived at the fast food restaurant, Illumi was sat by a window, looking at the city through the glass. Illu distracted is one of the views Hisoka appreciates the most in life. Not that the man doesn’t know they arrived, he just put enough trust in the clown that his aura doesn’t bother the assassin anymore, it’s calming and familiar. He had some fingers wrapped around the tip of a lock of black hair, swirling it absently. When watching Illu’s void expression during daily activities, Hisoka would entertain himself by picturing that inside of the assassin’s head there was a loop of nonsense cute things going on, such as two hamsters knocking on each other’s head with an inflatable hammer. But in moments like this, when the man looked in peace and happy, although there was no smile, the jester would picture scenes of the two of them together going on in his husband’s mind, such as memories of the evenings they spent on top of roofs, jumping from building to building in a race, to never find out who actually won ‘cause it always ended in two bodies tangled as they consumed their love in some random corner of the city. Smiling, Hisoka made his way to his beloved husband, holding the little girl’s hand. When close to Illumi, he lowered himself and kissed the assassin’s temple, keeping his nose and mouth touching the skin until the other turned his head and their lips met. Illumi closed his eyes to welcome the affectionate kiss.

Once the kiss was over, Hisoka signed to Minke to greet Illumi. She stepped in between them and climbed the man’s chair to hug him on the neck, kissing him on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re really here.”

Illumi held on the girl’s hair during the hug, his face on the encounter of her jaw and neck. He remembered vividly how it felt to hug his brothers like that. Even Milluki, although their age difference is not that big, after Killua first couple of years, Illumi had grown fond of Millu’s affection, and hugging him was especially good since he has always been chubby. He let go of the hug, but kept her sat on his lap, giving Hisoka a prolonged look. “You look good. Very good.”

“Oh, thanks! Someone is in a good mood. ♥” The clown sat in front of them. “I’ll get the food, what you’re gonna eat?”

“I’ll have a number 5… Better, two of it. The largest fries you can buy and a chocolate milkshake.” Hisoka looked at him with a ridiculously funny face and Minke laughed out loud.   
“What? I haven’t eaten since before dawn and it’s past 2 now, stop judging me.”

“What about you, little princess? ♥” Hisoka propped his chin on a hand on the table and winkled at her.

“Can I get just the fries and milkshake, please? Pleeeease….”

“Chocolate? ♥” She nodded and he left the table to get their food.

“Hisoka told me about your work.” Minke was looking at him excitedly. “Can you only be an assassin if born in a family like yours?”

That’s not quite the question Illumi was waiting for coming from a child, but by now he was getting used to this little girl’s behavior, and also had expected that away from her mother things would be a little different between them, he didn’t made the effort to put the nice mask on and intended to interact with her as he does with any other human being. “No, but it helps a lot. I was trained since I was a baby to be the best assassin there is, someone that started as an adult wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Hisoka said you’re the best of all. You must be amazing!”

The man thought about telling her how Killua would overpower him someday, becoming the most skilled assassin among the Zoldyck and leading the family, but was stopped by reality, that was indeed very different. Killua wasn’t an assassin anymore and had spent several years without proper training. Not even if he was still under Illumi’s control there would be the slightest possibility of overpowering the eldest Zoldyck of their generation.

He didn’t bother to display any false modesty. “I’m as efficient as an assassin can be.”

“Do you have fun?”

“My work is not made for my satisfaction, but it is enjoyable.”

“What?”

“I like it.”

“Oh- I see. Do you think it’s too late for me?”

“For what?”

“To become an assassin.”

Illumi considered it for a moment. It was not the best, but start at six was not that much of a problem. There was still enough time to build the resistance against poison, body and mind were still very plastic. Torture would be a problem to a child not used to it from the crib, but again, there was still time to build pain resistance. There would be a few troubled nights because of the nightmares, but they happen anyway and could be used for the sleeping deprivation training. If she'd told the truth about being able to use nen, she had a great perspective of improvement, especially if it has happened spontaneously. Of course, the majority of assassins in the planet would say nothing of that is necessary and that she has to wait a whole decade to start her training, but that is the reason they’re always so far behind the Zoldycks. “No, you could do it. You’re training could be optimized to take you till almost perfection, but that, of course, would take a Zoldyck level professional.”

The little girl had the weirdest confused look on her face, her mouth opened when she thought of saying something, but closed again when she decided she hadn’t actually understood what the man had told her.

“Is Illu torturing you with his words? ♦” Hisoka had come back with the food. “By what I heard, he said it’s not too late. ♣”

“Oh, good!” Minke smiled as she moved off the assassin’s lap, sitting next to him, right in front of the pink-haired man, who handled them the food.

“Will we go to the movies?” Illu followed the question by a bite that took almost half of his sandwich off, he hadn’t even chewed yet when he sucked the chocolate milkshake in.

“If that’s what Minke wants. I just think we should go somewhere so she can show me some magic, you know? ♥” The man squinted his eyes to the girl, in an expression of playful challenge. “Do you wanna watch a movie after that? ♦”

“I wouldn’t mind not going, it’s gonna be so fun to play with nen finally.”

Hisoka sucked all his strawberry milkshake at once and looked at his husband for some sort of opinion. Illu gave him a positive sign. “It’s decided then, we’re spending the day at a park, playing. ♥”

“Didn’t you get a frozen brain?” The clown moved his hands to his temples and laughed. “A little bit, but I’ve tried to hide it. ♣” Minke laughed too, and even Illumi shared a smile, although he doesn’t quite get the drama, he loves frozen brain.

“How did I do those tricks? ♥” Hisoka’s gaze seemed a little maniac at the moment, he knew that.

“Your nen is different, it’s... sticky. You glued those things with your pink nen and moved them. That’s how you did it.” Minke then bit one of the French fries, chewing it very loudly as the girls in the movies her mom likes did when showing attitude.

Illumi turned on the chair to look at her and then raised his eyebrows to his husband. The clown had bitten his bottom lip and was current letting it slide from his teeth as he sucked air into his mouth, saliva making a wet sound. The girl hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat weirded out, but she didn’t want the two men to think she was easily scared. “Why is yours so different? I’ve never seen one like it.”

It was the assassin who answered her. “That’s because he’s a transmuter. It means he can transform, change his aura in a way. My brother can turn his into electricity, Hisoka’s aura is sort of a chewing gum.”

“I call it Bungee Gum, it has the properties of both rubber and gum. ♥” He stated with a grin.

Hisoka’s admiration was everything Minke could want, but she had to admit to herself he was really creepy right now. She was glad Illu was there. “Aura?”

Again, it was Illumi to answer. “This that you can see around people.”

“Oh- that’s really cool. Mine is different, I feel… It’s more like… I-I can move bones.”

Hisoka leaned forward on the table, almost reaching the girl, eyes glued at her. “You can actively use it, not just feel it? ♦”

“I… I can feel it too. Around and-and-and inside me.”

“Feel it in you is all that we thought you could do. It’s very impressive that you can actively use it.” She turned to the black-haired man when he spoke. “What do you mean when you say ‘move bones’?”

“It’s like the bones obey me. It doesn’t work every time in living things, but in dead things is like playing with puppets. If we move to somewhere I can get an animal, I’ll show you.”

Faster than the girl could understand, the clown was on his feet and had her in his arms. Illu rescued the fries from the abandoned meal and followed them. “Let’s go to a park. Fast. ♥”

 

\-----

 

Hisoka noticed that he made the girl uncomfortable at some point in the restaurant and tried to regain the atmosphere from before, he took advantage of carrying her to tickle her belly and was rewarded with laughs and a more trustful hug.

They stopped at the park right next to fast food restaurant. The place was almost empty, aside from a woman walking her dog, and two old men playing chess in the rock chairs at a far corner. Illumi sat on a bench and signed for the other two to join him. “What kind of animal? I could get you one of those pigeons.”  
Minke unleashed herself from Hisoka’s arms and stepped to the floor. “I don’t really know how to assemble a pigeon. I’ll get myself a rat.” And she ran towards the restaurant, disappearing when turned the corner close to the drive thru entrance.

“Assemble sounds nice. ♥”

The girl went to the garbage cans, if she was searching for a rat she had to look for what they were searching for. She was lucky, a pair of rats was enjoying a meal on the surface of a pile of trash in the first can she opened. Faster than the little fellow, she grabbed one of them, allowing the other to escape. One was all that was needed. She took it back to the men waiting for her, not really minding the rat’s protests and bite attempts.

“Hiso, can you glue him to the bench?”

The clown smiled at the sweet way she called him. He loved to be called Hiso, but it was not something Illu would do and other people were usually too scared. He promptly used his nen to prepare a square big enough to fit the rat. The girl placed the rat on it. “Are you sure people won’t see it?”

“Will there be blood?” The assassin was looking around the park, but turned his head to the girl when she nodded. “Will there be screams?” The woman had headphones on and the old men were far enough to not be a problem. “Probably, but they don’t scream that loud.”

“Go ahead, if someone sees us I’ll show you how my nen works.”

“I hope someone sees us.” She playful smiled to the assassin.

Minke was stand in front of the bench, looking the rat from above. The creature screamed and tried to kick his way out of the situation, but Bungee Gum secured him in place. Within seconds, the sparse fur was painted in red, blood started to drip from a wound that apparently opened at its own will. A tiny bone made its way out from the now dead animal through the wound, immediately followed for other bones, all coming from either the same wound or another one that had been opened right next to it.

“You can release it now.” Hisoka did so and when all the bones were out of the rat, the girl dispensed the body to the floor and proceeded to in fact assemble the bones in the same way they must have been inside the body.

Illumi could hear his husband breathing heavily in excitement, it must be quite a show for the pervert clown, this six years old child was capable of channeling a great deal of nen to do such a weird thing, without any training, really impressive.

The bones were kept together by her nen, she moved them a little, like a puppet. “You see, they obey me. I have lots of them, my puppets. They’re my actors.”

“You clearly have done this many times before. I don’t think everyone knows how rat’s bones are positioned. Can you see your own nen on them?” She nodded, the assassin continued. “I think you have the same kind of nen I do, manipulation, but we will get to test that.”

“How?”

“There’s a simple test…” Illumi was interrupted by his husband, who seemed to be lost in his own thrill, speaking without noticing any other thing was happening around. Yellow eyes shining sinfully when he looked at the girl from above his raised chin.

“Tell me, Minke, has Peter been a good actor? ♥”


	4. Minke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minke's first experiences with nen. Scenes of her discovering and developing her nen and her character in the year before she get to know Hisoka and Illumi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting 2 chapters today o/  
> I like Minke very much and had done kind of a background for her. I decided to post it, but it is not essential to fic itself. So, if you don’t want to read it, be free to jump to the next chapter, the regular story, you will be just fine. =)  
> If you do read, I hope you like her as much as I do. Good reading =D

It had been a nightmare. Minke sat on her bed, still shaking, hands grabbing the covers. At least she didn’t scream, or if she did her parents didn’t listen, since the girl was awake for a few minutes now and no one had come around. Trying to feel more protected, she wrapped the covers around herself, closing her eyes and steadying her breath. She felt _it_ almost like a wave of heat that calmly spread through her body with a sense of protection and power. She could feel _it_ all over herself, she was powerful. She could use this one day if in need. The little girl leaned back in bed and allowed herself to fall asleep.

 

\-----

 

Minke liked a lot when her mother would let her go to Havens Arena to watch the fights. Mommy was strong and Minke had never seen her losing a fight, though she said it happened several times on the other levels of the tower. It was a pity she couldn’t be here more often. Lexia’s punches seemed of an unreal strength, the little girl was sure that if it wasn’t for the cheering crowd she would be able to hear them, even being a bit far. She wondered from where did her mother get her strength, perhaps it was the same that happens to herself, perhaps mommy has that layer of power coming from inside too. If she did, could Minke see it? She could see her own. The girl leaned forward, concentrating in examining her mother’s body. It didn’t seem to work. She sat back and closed her eyes, thinking about the moments when she would feel _it_ in her. There was that layer of power, that protection feeling, she was getting better in controlling it when she wanted to.

Minke opened her eyes, thinking what would be like to look at everyone around her while feeling that power, and hoping to find out if anyone could see what she was doing. The girl was caught in surprise when she looked at her mother. There it was, all around the woman, a layer just like her own. But it was more than that, Minke could feel it. Way stronger than the one she could produce, it was like a really strong presence. Mommy must be so powerful. Suddenly her mom started an attack and it was like the layer was compressed and guided to the woman’s hand, looking almost like a very thick glove. The girl looked at the target for the attack and notice that he too had this power. The layer around his body was somehow concentrated in the very obvious area where the punch would land, forming a barrier much thicker than when spread over the whole body. Lexia’s changed her attack much faster than Minke was capable to watch and the punch landed on an unprotected area of the opponent, who was sent flying to the other side of the arena. Minke’s surprised reaction seemed to end her ability to see the layers of power. She looked to herself trying to figure out why. She then understood that all this time she was concentrating her layer just like mom was doing, but she was kind of putting it on her eyes. The girl was happy that it worked just as well when she tried it again.

 

\-----

 

The dog was chewing a bone Moto gave him at lunch, on the rug right next to the couch where Minke was comfortably lying in a nest of fluffy blankets while watching TV. The channel went to the commercials and she reached for the remote but ended up knocking it to the ground. It was too cold, she didn’t want to get off the couch to grab it, but she didn’t want to watch those boring commercials either. Lazily looking at the remote lying next to the dog the little girl imaged how cool it would be if among those powers she discovered was one that would make things move when she thought of it. She would never walk again, that’s for sure. She tried to concentrate in move the remote to her but it didn’t seem to work. She then thought simply on “moving” and was about to give up frustrated when heard the dog struggling with something. Minke looked to see the dog trying to stop the bone from running away. Once again, surprise was bigger than her powers and the bone was back to doing nothing. She sat, looking straight to the bone and tried to move it. The thing moved just as she wanted it, flying and leaving a discontent dog behind.

“Why is this dog so noisy?” Minke let the bone fall on the rug when she heard her father coming from his bedroom, she would not let him see it.

 

\-----

 

“Good boy, Tim” Minke petted the dog’s neck. It had been quite a long time she’s trying to move the dog like she does with bones, but nothing seems to happen. Maybe he’s just too big for her, although some of the bones she moved were probably bigger than the ones inside of Tim. Or maybe Tim was not made of bones, he was too fluffy anyway. She sighed frustrated. As she’s about to give up, an idea crossed her mind, lighting her face in hope. She’s been trying to move the wrong thing, obviously she can’t move Tim because she doesn’t move dogs, she moves bones. She then concentrated in moving one of the dog’s bones, and for some reason her mind was set on the one in his neck. It took a lot of time and she was feeling the effects of the strength she was putting on it when Tim’s neck snapped.

Mink smiled as the dog fell dead to the floor.

 

\-----

 

Minke was in her bed, face buried on the pillows to avoid hearing her father’s screams. Mommy was crying and asking him to calm down. “Moto, calm yourself, please. I know you’re afraid but it doesn’t mean anything. She didn’t know that was gonna happen, she’s too young to know what nen is capable of.”

_Nen_ was the name her mother used for the powers she has, the girl assumed. Her father was afraid of her nen, her father was always afraid of something. Sometimes Minke wondered why mommy liked him, she was always better in everything, she didn’t need him. “It is gonna break her! They all grow up to be monsters…” he screamed. Minke was surprised to find out her father was also a _nen user_ , as her mother said when trying to convince him that if he had discovered his powers on the little girl’s age, something like this could have happened.

What was all this mess about anyway? Tim died like everyone will. Grandma had died just a while ago and no one freaked out. Minke thought maybe it was too much for her father to see his dead dog dancing like a funny puppet when he entered home, and she wished she hadn’t done it, although finding out that the bones inside a dead thing are as easy to move as the ones the dog used to chew was the most delicious thing she ever did. She couldn’t wait to do that again.

“Darling, can we talk?” Minke sat on the bed and looked to her mother when she entered the room followed by father. The girl started to cry. “Sweetheart, we are here just to talk. There’s no need to cry, ok?” She nodded to mommy, wiping the tears. “Did you know that what you were doing was wrong?” 

“Not until dad got home, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” She started crying again. Lexia hugged her daughter and spoke looking at her husband: “It’s ok, love. It’s gonna be ok. It was not your fault, right daddy?”

“Minke, look at me” The girl was taken from her mother’s arms, father making her look straight to him. “You’re not allowed to even think about your nen anymore, do you understand? This is grown up stuff and I don’t want you involved with it. Say you won’t do this anymore, promise and then we’re done with this subject.” She once again nodded. “I promise I won’t do this anymore. I promise it, dad.”

 

\-----

 

Minke has been thinking about it since Tim’s death, she wanted to do it again, but it wouldn’t be possible at home. Mommy had talked to her, she said father was afraid of what nen could do to her soul if she started using it being so young and unprepared, and for that Minke should wait the right age to start really developing it. But the girl had grown addicted to the protection the power gave her and she wanted to feel once more what she felt when killing the dog. Father was the one at home, taking care of her today, he was watching TV while the little girl painted the flowers in the coloring book he gave her.

She left as soon as she heard the first snore, going fast down the stairs and leaving for the street. Minke didn’t quite have a plan, but she knew she wanted a living thing to kill. Walking in the busy streets, she saw a chubby rat entering an alley and followed it. The place was not abandoned but didn’t had that many people running around so she was able to spot many more rats in there. She tried to catch one, only to discover they were much faster than her. The girl went forward in the alley, looking to the buildings, houses that sold old books and things she’d never seen, a store where people fixed shoes, a place like the one her father went to have his hair cut and some closed doors. A rat passed through a crack in a wooden door very far inside the alley, one that was big enough for her to go through and it was just what she did. Minke saw herself in a large house, there were a lot of things that seemed to belong to whatever shop existed there before it was closed. It must have been many years ago by the state of the abandoned things. Also, it wasn’t hard to tell why it was closed, even for a 5 years old girl, the marks of water in the walls and floor guided to a big hole in a corner covered by a bunch of old furniture thrown there as a gift for the rats, apparently.

Although she didn’t get to kill something as planned, that was lucky of her to have found such a lovely place. Minke made an effort to memorized the way when going back home, for she would certainly go back.

 

\-----

 

The girl grabbed another one. This was a very large rat and especially fat too, although that last part didn’t quite matter. It would fit just well for the role of Great King Zuma in her next puppet show. She has been planning it for weeks, hunting for the right rats for each role. It would be just like the medieval movie mommy watched last week. But there was going to be a monster too, because she just the other night capture another cat and was looking forward to use it. Minke put the struggling creature in a large box she found among the abandoned things and looked at it from above, focusing in make its bones move. The first one popped out with a disgusting cry from the creature and a splash of blood, the rest followed coming either from the same spot or ripping new holes in the already dead creature. They always died so fast. Minke was excited when she grabbed the bones and assembled them to form the rat again. The little girl was now so used to do it that she didn’t even need the images she printed to use as a guide. Her nen kept them together and they were in fact very large when compared to the other ones she already had.

The girl made a small rat skeleton move forward and raise the two front paws, she made trumpet sound with her mouth. “I present His Majesty, the Great King Zuma!” She made sounds like a cheering crowd, and a bunch of little rats stood while the big one approached them. “My beloved people, I’m sorry to announce that we’ve spotted a mons… OH, REALLY?” Minke realized she had got too carried away when she heard the garbage truck compressing its load, which meant it was almost 4am and just about time to go back home if she didn’t want to get caught. At least today she only had rat skins to get rid of, a cat would have to wait until tomorrow so she could throw it in the garbage truck and wouldn’t be smelling great, but rats died in the street every day, no one would stop to see if they still had bones. She hid her puppets and went home.

 

\-----

 

Father was sent to work somewhere so far he couldn’t be home to take care of her during the day, for that Minke was staying in the neighbor’s apartment every afternoon till mommy was finish working. She hated to be there because of Peter. A year older than her, he was an annoying child, to loud for the girl’s taste. It felt weird that grownups seemed to believe the two of them supposed to get along just for being children, they were so different. The phone rang and nanny answered: “It’s quite alright, I’ll grab her things. I’ll be here till Peter’s parents are home, no need for you to worry.” Minke’s only joy was that it was almost time for her mother to pick her up, but it seemed like that wouldn’t be the case that day, nanny said mommy got stuck at work and wouldn’t be home for the night. They went to the girl’s house and grabbed some things so she could spend the night with Peter’s parents.

“You have no puppet show, you’re just a liar.” The boy talked with his mouth filled with chewed cookies he had stolen from the kitchen. “If you don’t want to believe… But if you do, I could show you just now” “Is it in your home?” “No, we would have to go in the streets.”

The boy was reluctant to go, but couldn’t resist when the girl said she could move the puppets with her mind. She was probably just lying, but either way he wanted to see it. Minke said she had a collection of rat puppets of all sizes and some cats too, and that she could make them move around to act the scenes. They could play together, he would help with the voices and guide the story as she moved the puppets. Peter was shaking when they finally got to the place, it was not very far but when she guided them into the alley he was sure she was tricking him into some serious problem. “Are you saying your puppets are bones?” the boy screamed, eyes wide opened, disgusted. “Are you afraid, Peter?” Minke’s grin was somewhat frightening. “If you don’t wish to play with them, I could play with you. But let me show you first…” The rat bones acted like they gained life, moving towards the door behind the boy. He turned around to run away but the creatures were all standing in his way, and he was too scared to try to run over them. “I can make you one of my puppets if I want to, you know. I bet it would be funny to have a real actor for my shows, not just rats.”

Minke knew she had grown stronger in the past months, but still his bones seemed to be too big for her, no bone popped out when she concentrated in doing so. She tried to think more specifically in the bones she had seen online, the ones in the arms of such a little boy didn’t seem too big for her to move. Nothing still. She walked closer to him, reaching a hand to touch his arm. When her hands found their way to his soft skin, the boy tried to run. She grabbed his arm roughly, making scratches on him with her nails, throwing him to the floor. The girl looked at him from above, the way she likes it the most, and tried again. This time the skin of his arm was ripped apart by the boy’s bone coming out as if for its own will. The child screamed in terror and pain, but Minke didn’t hear, she only cared for the image in front of her, the blood dripping from the wound, the bone slowly slipping out of the boy’s arm just as she’s commanding it. She touched his chin, moving Peter’s head to look directly into her eyes. Cracking his exposed bone was as easy as thinking of it. Now, she did hear the scream, she also saw the fear in the little kid’s eyes, at which she was still staring. He’s crying scared and in pain. The girl wanted him to shut up before someone passing by gets to hear him and, just like that, his mouth closed with a loud noise in the middle of a scream. Blood from his injured tongue filled his mouth and started dripping from his lips when he opened them to scream, showing a set of bloody teeth he was unable to move. She watched in delight the patterns of blood running down his chin and arm, dripping from the fingers and staining the floor. Minke wanted to do more, to take another bone out of his body, but what seemed difficult before, seemed impossible while her mind was busy trying to keep him quiet. He’s choking on his own blood, she knew he would die. The girl’s seen many rats dying, also a few cats and a dog, but never a human. She stood right in front of him, looking into his terrified eyes, putting both hands on the sides of his neck, not concentrating in keeping him quiet anymore, but the boy was so afraid that no sound would come out of him. Under her unmoving hands, just gently touching the boy’s neck, she felt the bones moving when his head was turned unnaturally to the side and she heard a loud clack. The body slid to the floor, landing on the blood pool and it was beautiful, so much better than the animals.

The girl knew it was wrong. Dad got so mad about the dog, she could imagine that this would be even worse. As much as she wanted to take the bones and play with her new puppet, she knew it was very important to get as far away from the building as possible or there would be trouble. Minke wandered through the city as a lost child would, till she couldn’t say where she was anymore. It was still night time but the girl was not afraid, if someone tried to hurt her, all she had to do was the same she did to the boy. Sun was up when she heard mother’s voice screaming her name. The little child cried and screamed back, she ran into her mother’s arms sobbing. They took her home and the police was there. Minke told them the wrong direction, lying that they parted long after leaving home and she didn’t know why. She didn’t see anyone taking him, he didn’t scream.

On the third night after that, Minke was able to leave home without being notice with just enough time to take the bones off the dead body, what was way easier than taking them from the living. Once it was done, she waited for the garbage truck to park and the employees to leave for their regular coffee. She then dumped him there with ease, and returned for the inside of the building. The little girl hid her precious bones as usual and heard when the truck compressed the garbage before continuing its journey through the city. She would be back tomorrow, she would play with him tomorrow.


	5. The girl's power (II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka is very excited about Minke’s powers.  
> Illumi misses his brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting 2 chapters today o/  
> In case you haven’t seen the other one, it’s called Minke and it’s not essential to the story but may be interesting.  
> I thought a little insensitive of me to post just a chapter about an OC, so I decided to post one that has our beloved characters as well.  
> I hope you like it, good hisoillu for all of us! ;)

For just a moment, she was shocked. When Peter’s name came out of Hisoka’s mouth, it felt like her world was crumbling. She wanted to run and hide somewhere even her would forget someday. The sound of her own heart painful in her head, she never knew a body could be so warm, but hers was now burning from inside out. She didn’t shake, she didn’t scream. In seconds that passed like years, she stood and looked at the man in front of her. He had just said out loud the darkest secret she holds but wasn’t anywhere near to judge her. Yellow eyes shining at her from above lips stretched, the scariest grin she has ever seen, but not a glint of disapproval. Slowly, she turned to the other man. He was standing there, still looking at the bones, clearly figuring out all he could of this demonstration, practical eyes strange to her struggle. He didn’t mind at all. That was those two for real, wasn’t it? It had been said that she killed a boy, they had just seen how, they knew she kept him as a toy and still Illumi couldn’t care less, while Hisoka seemed to have won the greatest gift he could ever desire.

Minke tried her hardest to calm down. When her body allowed, she made a confident face to the clown. “He’s way better now he can’t talk.”

“Cruel. ♥” Hisoka reached the girl’s face, petting her round cheek with his thumb. The man seemed to capture each part her face, taking time in her shy smile and then directing his gaze to brown eyes that still held some guilt, regardless of her attempt to show strength.

“Your mother doesn’t know. Why is it that you’re not allowed to use nen?” Illumi was now looking at her with something of an interest, but he was completely different from his husband. The black-haired man was evaluating her, perhaps measuring her in some instance, while the other was… admiring.

The delighted eyes staring at her caused a battle the girl didn’t know she would one day have to fight. That’s all she wanted, these men were paying her attention for her abilities, they approved of what she had done. They were different from people back home, much more like her, but still, the way Hisoka was showing his pleasure made the air around her heavy. She didn’t want to show weakness, she didn’t want to lose it, to end up discouraging the man, but her body responded to her fear, and before she could stop herself, a step behind was taken and the girl was grabbling at the other man’s arms and legs.

The assassin accepted her in his arms, holding the child tight against his chest. He slid a hand through her long hair and spoke low in her ear. “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. You’re important to him now, that’s just his way.” Although calming the girl, Illumi made sure to give his husband a severe look. He was used to this side of Hisoka, but the man should have known better than display this type of lust in a public park in front of an unsuspecting child.

Had given up, the girl didn’t let go of the man when spoke. “It was because of my father, he’s afraid of what I can do and of what I will become.” She was enjoying the petting in her hair and let her head fall back, leaned on the assassin’s face. The man kissed her temple. She sighed and closed her eyes to the affection. “Once, sometime after I found out about the bones thing, I tried to move the bones inside of our dog and he ended up with a broken neck. When that man saw it, he went crazy. I should have known he would be afraid, he is always afraid of everything, but I didn’t know it would kill Tim.”

Hisoka leaned back on the bench, opening his legs to give himself more room. Illumi rolled his eyes and for a moment he was thankful that the girl kept hers closed. “I heard him and mommy arguing, he said I would become a monster and they should stop that. He made me promise I wouldn’t…”

“WHAT THE HELL?!” The woman with the dog had come closer and was looking, jaw down, to Hisoka, who had his eyes closed and was licking his own lips in a much obscene way.

A pin entered the skin on her neck, the life quickly left the woman’s eyes and she stopped talking immediately. “C’mon, who allowed you to live in society? We’re going home.” He calmly stood up with the child in his arms and walked away.

It was all very confusing for Minke, she hadn’t seen anything happening but the woman was standing there, dead to all she knew, the only thing proving otherwise was the very fact that she was standing. “Is she dead?”

“No. I’m controlling her, that’s all.”

“You did that?” The assassin nodded. “When?”

 

\-----

 

Hisoka used the short amount of time it took for Illu to drive them home to calm himself down from the overwhelming reaction. None of the three shared a word during the around 10 minutes trip. The clown was the one to get off the car first and grab the girl and her things. She smiled at him and held his hand as if nothing weird had happened in the park. That was good, either she didn’t care for his behavior or had enough trust in Illumi to believe she wouldn’t end up hurt.

They went up to the known apartment, silence was broken when they entered the elevator. “So it means you control people?” The girl was visibly excited again, looking up to the long-haired man, swinging the clown’s hand.

“Yes.” He didn’t look at her. “How?”

“With my nen.”

“Rude. ♦”

Illumi just stepped out of the elevator and went towards his door.

“He makes needles and when they hit someone, Illu can command this person’s actions, much like a puppet too. ♣”

“Oh, that’s really cool!”

Illumi was leaving the bathroom when his husband and the girl entered the apartment. They were still holding hands and Hisoka had the small school bag hanging on his shoulder. The clown sure looked beautiful smiling like that and acting all kind. After so many years, the assassin was used to those different sides of this man, and although sometimes it may be quite an inconvenience, he loved them all. The assassin moved to sit on the armchair in their living room, side positioned to the other two, but turning his neck to keep looking at them.

“So, what about you father makes you hate him?”

“How do even know that?” The girl didn’t let go of Hisoka’s hand when she rushed to the couch, pulling him with her and making sure he was sat before accommodating herself at his side. This attitudes she had amused Hisoka so much he could barely stop himself from squeezing her fat face.

“I don’t. It’s just the way you talked earlier.”

“He is… I just don’t understand why my mom married him. She’s brilliant, strong, beautiful, she succeeds in everything and is so brave, that’s the most important part, she is brave. He’s always afraid, he has been afraid since before I remember. I don’t like the way he stops her… She could do so much more.”

“But without him, there wouldn’t be you. ♦”

“He has nothing to do with me. We don’t even talk.”

“But he made you. ♣”

“She made me.”

Illumi and Hisoka exchanged a look that went unnoticed by the girl. “So, he got scared because of the dog?”

“I suppose. He’s easily scared. He said, to mom not to me, that everyone that uses nen so early turns into a monster, that it corrupts and poisons, something like that.”

“I don’t know if he’s wrong though. ♠”

“That’s a matter of point of view, Hisoka.”

“Illu, don’t get offended. ♥”

“I’m not.”

A phone ringing, unmistakably Hisoka’s, judging by the flamboyant song. “Lexia, darling. ♥”

She was probably calling so they knew she was coming to take the girl home. Although he would never say it out loud, Illumi felt sorry that this day was over, it had been quite interesting. The assassin only hoped that the mother wasn’t planning to spend time with them, just take the girl and go away.

“Not a problem at all. We would love to be with her a little longer. ♦”

“Does that mean I get to spend the night?” Her excitement was rewarded with the sweetest smile from the clown.

“Listen, would you allow her to stay over tonight? ♠” … “It’s not a problem. ♣” … “Sure. Minke, mom wants to talk to you. ♥”

“MOM, CAN I STAY?” She was speaking even before putting the phone on her ear. Illumi guided her out of the couch and towards the kitchen, she was being really loud.

“Maybe check with me next time.”

“Oh, c’mon, it will do wonders to your plan. ♥”

The girl was back, handing the phone to Illumi. “Mom said I can stay if Illu allow me.”

“Oh, we’re gonna have so much fun together. ♣”

 

\-----

 

Illumi had a thing or two to do concerning his work and was pleased to know that the girl was really the quiet type. Hisoka spent almost all the time with her in the couch, talking and watching TV. It didn’t escape Illu that she’d chosen a puppet show to watch, which indeed made much sense. In the evening, his husband and the girl sat beside him, Hisoka helped her through with homework. Although it was kind of dumb, Hisoka painting the pictures with her was absolutely the cutest thing that the assassin has ever witnessed. The clown winked at him when noticed he had stop doing his things to watch them.

“Illu, we’re done here. What do you think about me getting us some food and you helping her get ready to bed? ♠”

“Sure.”

“I’ll bring us something good from that soup restaurant, is that ok with you two? ♦”

Both of them nodded and in a short time Hisoka had left to get the food. Illumi fetched a white shirt in his closet that he supposed would do just well as an improvised night suit for the child. He filled the tub and asked her to check if the temperature was good enough. He helped her to undress and get in the tub, like many times he did to Killua and Kalluto. They didn’t had toys but a rubber duck Hisoka thought really funny, Minke occupied herself of sinking it and watch it jumped off the water again and again. Memories came so easily as he bathed her. Killua with his tiny little toys, splashing water all over the bathroom, laughing at him. Sometimes he asked if Illu would get in the tub with him, and he did, and they played together. Killua’s cities were always sinking, the toys were trying to save themselves from the sea monster. Illu would sink and then rise, hair in his face, black eyes wide open, he would attack the toys and sometimes suck one of them into his mouth, just so he could see his little brother’s face, the smile he shared, the excited screams, Killua making the other toys attack the monster… He made sure she washed her body well, but the hair he would wash. He wanted to do it, to wash a long hair like that. Even Alluka had short hair by the small period of time Illumi got to be her brother, before she was kept away of everything, before that thing, before Nanika.

“Illu, are you ok?”

He hadn’t noticed when the tears came, too absorbed in his thoughts. He wiped them away, feeling a little embarrassed, that’s a demonstration of weakness he’s not used to display. Then, he was stunned. She had got on her feet and hugged him, her chubby face pressed against his neck. “It is gonna be ok, Illu. I’m here.” she said through their hug. He felt warm, the tears back to his eyes. Why was that? How he missed these moments, the love in it. How he wished it could have been different, that his family could be together. But who was he tricking, he wouldn’t have done it differently and so wouldn’t Killua. He allowed himself to enjoy the hug a little before wiping his tears again and let her go.

“I won’t tell Hisoka that you cried, don’t worry.” Her smile was so sweet, so sincere, he didn’t bother to avoid his one.

“Thank you, but now I’m soaking wet.”

 

\-----

 

“Illu, is that the show you watched as a child? ♥”

They had eaten and Hisoka was now laying on the couch, remote in hand, the girl right beside him, both gesturing Illumi to join them.

The assassin sat near his husband, glad for the blankets Hisoka had brought from their bedroom. On the TV, an old puppet show he watched so many times. It had jokes, he remembered, but not in the way people seem to like it, more in the way he likes it, bitter jokes that weren’t meant for children, the ones grownups usually laugh at just because they can relate since their lives are just as bitter. “Yes. Wow, that’s old.”

“We will watch it. Watch with us.” Minke said as she climbed Hisoka’s lap to position herself in between the two men.

“I don’t know if you gonna like it.”

“Illu, they’re puppets. I’m gonna love it.”

 

\-----

 

Hisoka woke up in the middle of the night, the blue light of the TV hurting his eyes. He looked to his side and saw the girl in deep sleep, tangled to Illumi’s arms as he also slept. He stepped out of the couch, moving to his husband side. His hand slowly pulled the assassin’s hair away from his face and the clown leaned to kiss his lips. “Love. ♥”

The long-haired man opened his eyes and didn’t move but the hand that stroke Hisoka’s cheek. “Let’s put her on the bed and go to ours. ♥”

Illumi carried her to the guest room, taking his time so she wouldn’t be disturbed. He laid her on the bed and covered her with blankets. It seems like the memory of his brother’s childhood was still very alive in him, cause before he could think of it, he pressed a goodnight kiss on her forehead. He could feel Hisoka’s smile even without turning to see it.

The clown guided his husband by the hand to their bedroom, closing the door behind them. He had never seen Illu being so sweet to anyone, though he did know the man liked kids, at least the kids in his family. Perhaps it’s normal, perhaps everyone feels this enchanted when seeing a loved one behaving like that, but his heart felt warm and he wished he could freeze the picture. He wanted to hug Illu, just hold him in his arms until the other could sense all that he felt for him. And so he did. He held his husband in his arms, breathing in the smell of his hair, letting it fulfill his being. “I love you, you know that? I love so much. ♥”

Illumi felt his body weak, but it didn’t scare him. It was not like a threat he had to fight, it was his husband’s love that was now making his knees bend and his whole body shake. He liked it, he loved it. He loved him. He thought of saying it, but it didn’t feel right, it didn’t feel like himself. Instead, he looked at the man’s beautiful face, it wasn’t painted now, but it still had that unique feeling of Hisoka, the wide mouth, the shine in those yellow eyes, the extremely pleasant pointed nose of his. The assassin kissed him, letting it show how much he needs it, letting it show how much he loves him.

Hisoka laid Illumi on their bed carefully, without breaking the kiss, his hands traveling through the man’s body, clenching the skin on his thigh. He felt when Illu raised himself, hands caressing the clown’s abs and taking the shirt up and up till it had come off. Illumi had his own shirt off before laying on the bed again, pulling Hisoka’s arm slightly so he would lay on him.

The assassin glanced the pink hair as the man made his way down to his chest, he gasped when felt the tongue wrapping his nipple. He bent his knees and locked Hisoka in between his legs. He grasped at the pink hair, pulling it so the clown’s mouth was again on his own. He wanted to kiss him, to look at him.

It was very clear how this was going to be. Although the definition of making love always sounded a little ridiculous, Hisoka knew that was what they were doing. He made Illu free of his shorts and grabbed the lube that was always beside the bed before kissing his way to the assassin’s cock. He licked the length of it, first from the base up, and then down again, letting his breath hit the wet stripe his tongue had just made. He continued licking down till he get to his ass, opening his lover’s buttocks so he could more easily lick into his entrance. It never failed to make Illumi lose it, the clown could hear the man’s breath heavy and the low moans coming from his mouth. He worked there for a moment, his wet tongue entering and leaving the assassin’s body repeatedly, being rewarded with sweet noises and movements Illu couldn’t stop his body from doing.

He was back to his husband cock when he first inserted a finger in him, sucking it slowly into his mouth. Illumi used his hand to push Hisoka’s head lower into his member, making him swallow him whole in a fast move. He gasped and let go of the head when Hisoka pushed another finger inside him at the same moment. “Be more patient, Illu~ ♥”

Hisoka kissed Illu’s inner thigh while still fingering him. “Please, come here, I wanna look at you.”

“How romantic of you, love. ♥” He stood, taking his own pants off the way. The view of Illumi laying on the bed, open leg showing how hard he was, chest rising with every breath, would never lose the effect it had on the clown. He took his own hard cock with a lube covered hand and stroked himself, he smiled when Illumi bit his lips. Next, Hisoka was laying above his husband, holding his legs open so he could push himself inside the man.

Illumi was looking at Hisoka’s eyes when he entered his body. He saw the grin when the clown heard a moan coming out of the assassin’s mouth. He saw the satisfaction look on that beautiful face with every thrust. He held the pink hair in between his fingers and pulled it every time the strength of the larger man made his lean body move along with the bed. “I do love you too.”

Hisoka sank his face on Illumi’s neck, tasting and smelling the sweat that glued black hair on light skin. His hand reaching for the man’s cock, stroking it in time with the thrusts. “I love you, I love you more than anything… ♥” he whispered not worrying if the other man would really listen.

His husband knew so well how to handle his body, the assassin was sent over the edge in no time, grasping the sheets and moaning against Hisoka’s hair. He moved his sweat body under the other man, providing as much pleasure as he could with his moves, and shortly after that, Hisoka had come inside him, keeping himself as deep as he could, hands clenching at Illumi’s body.

They kissed before doing anything else. Hisoka then moved himself out of his husband and lay at his side, offering his arm to a hug that the other man promptly accepted. No word was spoken until both fell asleep, Hisoka first, stroking the long hair he so much loved until the very last minute he was awake, and then Illumi, watching the other’s chest rise and fall calmly, the only view that took every worry away from him. It didn’t matter how broken his family was, he had found one of his own and he loved it.


	6. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi gets himself into a difficult situation with his family and finally gets to meet Moto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of weirdly shaped chapter, but still a chapter! HAHAHAHA  
> After all this time, here it is. I hope you all enjoy it <3

"Illumi, would you care to take a moment to talk to us?"

Mother was standing next to the door of the training room. Her eyes covered as usual, no much of an expression there to see, but her words were sweet and the slightest smile crossed her lips.

Illumi was never fond of stopping in the middle of his training, but family was the reason to break any rules, even personal ones. He nodded and followed mother across the corridors. A lock of black hair fell over his eyes, it was of an uncomfortable length, not yet long enough to be properly tied, but long enough to get glued on his sweat and cause an annoying itching.

Mother reached a hand to his face and petted the hair away from her child's eyes. "It is growing quite fast, isn't it? So beautiful... And so are you, beautiful and growing up too fast..." She stopped and stood in front of him, holding his face gently. "I love you so very much, my darling. You are so talented and smart, and so, so beautiful... Do you love me back, sweetheart?"

He nodded again.

"Then say it"

"I love you, mom, very much." It was far from a lie, Illumi did love his mother immensely, but this weird moments when she asked for confirmation were rather uncomfortable and had been happening quite often.

"Am I the one you love the most?"

"Mother, I... There's Killu." It always felt awkward to say such a thing to her, but otherwise he would be lecture about how important it was to love his little brother more than anything.

"Yes, sweetheart, you love Killua more than anything in the world, right?"

Once more, he nodded.

"Say it, Illumi! Say it." Her voice trembled for a moment as a noticeable wave of despair crossed the woman.

"Mother, I love him more than anything. Killua will always be everything to me."

"Good, darling. ...oh, my dear, I love you so much." She held his head in between her hands and forced it down to her breasts.

At 18, the boy had grown much taller than his mother, she made him kneel in order to stroke and kiss his hair. When she held him tight like that, he would feel the smell of her skin, of the fancy perfumes she used all his life. He liked the warmth of her, the gentle kisses on his head, even if the hands were roughly shoving him down to the floor.

"Thought I should check what was taking you two so long. Should I be jealous?" Silva was standing some steps away from them, holding Kalluto in his arms, smiling at his wife and son.

Illumi wasn't able to prevent his cheeks and ears from blushing, so unsure of what to do, his mind screaming to himself as he kept still, knelt in front of his mother.

"Illumi? Son, I'm kidding. Look at me."

When he did, father was smiling. A smile that didn't quite match with the strong features, but made the man so beautiful. The blue eyes seemed to shine brighter when he smiled. As if the huge figure with white hair wasn't enough to almost blind him already.

“Stand, son, let me kiss those red ears. Or is it just for your mother?"

If there was a way of getting even more red, he certainly did that.

They went to a room at the end of the hallway, in which most of the toys were kept and where they would probably find the rest of the kids. As soon as Silva opened the door and put little Kalluto on the floor, a small pale figure came running fast, dodging father and mother, and jumped at Illumi's legs. "Nii-sama, finally!"

Seconds after Killua reached Illumi, Alluka joined them, as energetic as the brother, although a bit breathless, also grabbing at the oldest brother's legs and murmuring "nii-sama, nii-sama". The young man knelt to hug them.

Moments later, Kalluto seemed to realize how great of an idea it was and tried his best at the art of walking, so recent to him, stumbling all the way to his older brother.

"I thought your training would never end. We need you to play! COME!" Killua was so excited he was almost screaming.

"No way, nii-sama is busy now. Where's Milluki? I've told him to be with all of you today." Silva was not mad, but his children stopped immediately and the only sound heard was Kalluto struggling to stumble away from his father.

"MILLUKI, ARE YOU HEARING ME?"

In a corner, the chubbiest of the brothers sat, completely unaware of the presence of his family, headphones on, eyes glued to some game he wasn't supposed to be playing. The lecture directed to Milluki was something on the lines of "your brothers are more important than these games; how did Kalluto ended up all the way across the hallway; this game thing is doing no good to your life, how long has it been since you were outside; are you even listening to me", but Illumi was pretty sure his brother missed most of it. Not sure if he should be ashamed of Milluki or praise him, ignoring father was a thing Illumi could not do, even if he desired so.

They left the kids there and walked to a more private office on the other side. As they sit down, parents on a sofa and son in a armchair right across them, Silva took the lead. "You know, son, by the age Killua is now, your nen had already spontaneously shown itself." The boy nodded.

"Yes, it was marvelous. You’ve always been so talented, no need to be an expert to tell you were born to be an assassin..." Kikyo made lots of random praises to her son, stopping only when Silva started talking again. "But, as you know, nothing has happened with Killua yet. I know you've been trying to force him for awhile now, but that's why I've called you here. I want you to stop."

"Father?" Surprise got the best of him.

"I want you to stop training Killua to develop his nen."

As several seconds passed in silence, Silva explained himself. "What I think is... This might be a chance we gained from life. You know Killua is sort of a rebel, he doesn't take the training very well."

"But he does, he's amazingly good at everything. You can't think less of him just because of the nen issue..."

"You see, Illumi, I know all that. But, perhaps, if Killua develops his nen so young, he will end up overpowering us way before he knows what's best, and then we will not be able to control him. He might end up making his own mind to wrong things, and you know our family's destiny lays in his hands."

Every part of the conversation that followed made Illumi sad. He had such a great time training his brother and now, now he would have to hold back? How come the heir would not be trained at his best?

"Then promise us, darling, promise you won't try to teach him anything about nen anymore."

"Mother..."

"Promise, sweetheart. Promise or I'll make sure you see no more of your brother."

"Isn't that a bit over?" Silva intervened.

"Shut up, my love, let me talk to our son, I know him way better than you do."

It was pointless to argue. He would not go against a direct order from his parents and they had made their minds. "So, I should just teach him how to fight, how to proceed in the missions, right? Is that enough for the heir?"

"Yes. And don’t forget we'll be sending him to Heavens Arena soon."

"PROMISE, DARLING" Kikyo's tone was pure despair as she screamed. Both the men in the room kept quiet. "Do you want my baby to leav..."

"Enough, mother. I promise. I won't disagree with you two anymore. If that's the right thing to do, so be it."

 

\-----

 

"Ann... Illu, you-you still counting the time?" Minke tried to talk through the pain.

The scene around him came back to life as the memories left at the sound of the girl's voice. Minke was at his side, mimicking the pose he was doing, legs opened into a split, hands thrown back, over the body, touching her toes. "Oh- you- we- just stop."

The child melted out of pose, letting her body fall limp on the floor. "I thought it would never end. Did you forget what we're doing?"

They must have passed a long time like that, even his body felt a little uncomfortable, he rolled his shoulders. "Why didn't you called me before?"

"You DID?"

"..."

"How?! It's so painful... You..."

"What a show. So you've spent a couple of minutes more than you should doing that, what about it?"

"A couple of minutes? A COUPLE OF MINUTES - Were you torturing me?"

"I wish you would see what's me torturing someone..."

"We should do that. I'll need that to be a good assassin."

Illumi narrowed his eyes. "You can't even bear stretching training, I bet you would cry and give up."

"How dare you..."

"You know I wish we could do it, but it is impossible to keep it a secret, it leaves marks. We're taking quite the risk training your nen."

"But I'm getting really good, huh?"

"You're good, little one, you're pretty good." He petted her hair and cleaned his own face of the sweat, walking towards the door. "YOU NEED TO GET WAY BETTER IF YOU WANT A CHANCE THOUGH"

"ILLU!!!" It was really easy to tease the girl.

The front door opened to a cheerful conversation. Hisoka and Lexia entered the house with arms full of bags and carrying packages of food in their hands. "Exactly what I did, no way I would let that go... You two sure are loud, huh? ♠"

"Look who's talking. Everybody in this building knows what you did, you've yelled it to them." Illumi stopped by the door to greet his husband on the way to the bathroom.

"People of this building know a lot about who I do, mostly because you don't care to keep quiet when it's good. ♥"

"When what is good?" The little girl asked smiling.

"Well, child, when two people... ♣ "

"HISOKA, NO" The assassin brushed a hand over the other man's face to keep him quiet.

"The type of people I allow to be around my daughter" Lexia left the food on the table and was now hugging her daughter, kissing her little neck. "Oh, you're all sweaty!"

"Minke, bath, come on" Illumi went into the bathroom. "NOW"

Lexia gently slapped her bottom "Go, go."

 

\-----

 

"Are you sure this is not a problem?"

"Lexia, my dear, we adore her, it would only be a problem if you had chosen somebody else, we would be jealous. ♦"

"You have no idea how much you and Illumi have been helping me, seriously. I'll think of a way to thank you two, I will."

"Don't worry. Now, get out of this car or you won't make it to the plane in time. ♠"

She stepped out of the car and grabbed a black suit from the back sit. "Anything you need, call me. Never mind the hour, ok? If she..."

"We'll manage. Now, go! ♣ "

The woman waved goodbye as she ran towards the automatic door.

Hisoka made his way to Minke's school lost in thoughts. They would be taking care of her for three days straight and the girl was pretty excited about it, she wouldn't stop talking about how much she could train in that time. The child was certainly growing attached to them, and also did the mother (at least to him, anyway). A month had past since Illumi decided to start this game, but, besides the girls getting close to them, not much of a progress was made to it. Moto was not seen home once. Lexia talked a lot about him, things were not good for them as a family, Moto's work was always getting in the way, but she seemed pretty much in love with the guy. The problem is, if Moto is never around, the whole thing is pointless. Anyway, the clown was very much enjoying spending time with this little girl. Ever since Illumi decided to help her to better develop and understand nen, something inside Hisoka went deliciously crazy. Minke was good as it was, but she would ripe way faster with the assassin's help. He parked the car right in front of the school.

That thing took a lot of time and he had gone a few days without killing anyone. The man was doing his best to keep his bloodlust under control, but no doubt it would start to show in no time. He wondered if it had been a good idea to pick the girl up from school in such a state, but he was sure she would want to see it and now was too late to go back. He went out of the car, walking with heavy limbs towards the school entrance. He moistened his mouth with saliva as to avoid the sharpness his voice would certainly take. He felt when his heart went out of rhythm as he tries to avoid the air around him to turn into a mess of power and lust. The reception lady drowned a scream when she saw him. "Just get Minke and let Mrs. Van knows she's going home early, ok? I'll be waiting in the car." He didn't wait for the answer.

 

\-----

 

Minke saw him on her way to the car. It felt like the world around him was distorted. The pale man was on the driver's seat, staring right through the glass in front of him. Although his face was barely visible, the blackness that circled his eyes dragged Minke's attention right away. They contrasted intensely with the white paint on the rest of the face, and his eyes... the clown seemed to be fighting a tough battle to keep his eyelids from closing. The car was on, and the door was open, just waiting for her. His hands squeezed the wheel hard enough to rip parts of the black coat, but the girl was sure that man was actually controlling his strength, otherwise the wheel itself would be torn into pieces. She walked slowly to the car, taking some time to understand what was in front of her. Hisoka's head turned harshly to face the little girl and a wave of powerful bloodlust extended itself to her, as if the air was getting thicker and wrapping her body in a terrifying tight coat of evil. Her heart denied to make the next beat and she felt dizzy. She thought of run, but her feet wouldn't move back nor further.

"Rush" Sharp, low, with nothing of the playfulness of his.

She felt like waking up and ran into the car, closing roughly the door. Before she was properly sat, he was driving at fast speed.

Not long after that, they stopped at an alley, just a short street on the back side of a bunch of buildings, with huge trash cans and no one on sight. Hisoka got out of the car, opened the back door and got hold of the little girl. He was grinning, the energy around him seemed to drag the rest of the universe into its darkness. Minke was sure she was breathing in the smell of blood, but there was not a drop of it around. The grin grew wider and the clown's face assumed the most insane expression the child has ever seen.

"Are you excited, Minke? ♥" And up they went, with bungee gum propping them over the buildings faster than any car could move in a city. The sound of Hisoka’s laugh making Mike's heart go wild. Finally. Finally she would see him kill.

 

\-----

 

The assassin held the phone in his hand, close to his ear, even though he hadn't come up with a good reason for this action. It rang once... twice... He was about to hung up, it wasn't a good idea after all, that was for the best. But someone picked up.

"Hello?" A known deep voice answered. Not the one he wanted to hear. The man on the other side of the phone was not his little brother, but the brat that stole Killua from him. Gon's voice was much deeper now, but, thanks to Hisoka, he heard it not long ago, it was easy to recognize. The awkward silence must have given him away, and maybe Gon was less of an idiot than Illumi thought, the younger man said unsure: "Illumi?"

"Yes."

"Humm... H-hi... An-Killua is... He's on the other phone..."

"I'll call back another time."

He moved to end the call, but heard Gon shout and, for whatever reason, decided to wait.

"WAIT! Ah... I mean, sorry. If you... Are you there?"

"Yes."

"Good. I think he'll be happy to talk to you, just wait a minute so I let him know."

The phone went silent as Gone presumably went talk to Killua. Illumi's heart pumped in his chest by the idea that Killua could actually be waiting for him to call, after all, although the green brat was almost good for nothing, he certainly knew Killua, and he said Killu would be happy. Happy.

"Illu-ni-san?"

"Killua"

"Thank you for waiting and I'm sorry."

"Not at all a problem."

Silence.

"Would you tell me why you called?"

"I-"

Silence.

"Nii-san?"

It felt so good. He wished to hear Killua calling him like that everyday.

"Yes. I'm sorry. How are you?"

"I'm really well, really happy, you know?"

"That's good to hear."

"Nii-san, it has been ages. Gon tells me one thing or another from Hisoka, but I don't know much about you. How are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

Killua let out a small laugh.

"You know you can talk, right? You’re not reporting a mission or anything..."

"I know. I just wanted to..." He was not sure of what he wanted. The assassin went silent.

"You just wanted to hear my voice?"

No response.

"So, can I tell you about my life? Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes." Such a mechanic voice, even if Illumi's whole body wanted to react to that, to shake in surprise and joy. But he wouldn't, that's not him.

"Me and Gon moved to an apartment now. You can have my address, even pay us a visit sometime. Now that Alluka moved away, the house was feeling too big. She's always here, though. We've been trai..."

Hisoka entered the house with Minke sat on his shoulders, laughing out loud. "Can we get pizza? PLEEEEEEEASE"

"Let's check with Mr Better-food-for-better-performance there. ♠"

Killua went silent.

"CAN WE? PLEASE"

"Yeah, do as you want." The assassin sort of whispered, taking the phone away from his mouth.

"Is that a child? Has Hisoka come home with a child?" Killua asked from the other end of the line.

"... Yes."

"Illu-nii-san... Was that why you called?"

Illumi felt his body going cold when he heard Alluka's voice in a scream: "NII-SAMA ADOPTED A BABY? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

"That's amazing, nii-san. It really is. I- I... Congratulations! I'm really happy for you three."

Illumi stared at the wall, blinking repeatedly.

"Listen, I gotta go now, but I'll call you back so you can tell me about the baby, ok? I'm really happy you called me to tell. Gotta go. Gon is sending his regards to Hisoka. Bye."

"Bye." And, just like that, Killua hang up.

 

\----

 

Never before had Minke seen Hisoka in a hurry. It was funny. Even if it was like that, Illu was already waiting in the car and Hisoka was late. Well, she still had to pee. "Alright! Lock the door, then. I'll wait in the car. Hurry up! ♣ "

She used the bathroom and was on her way out when the phone rang. The house phone -it never rang. But yesterday, Minke remembered, Illu was on the phone when they arrived. Perhaps it is the same person calling back. Was it bad if she just let it go? Was it worst if she took it? Anyway, she took it.

"Hello?"

"Oh- Hello! Are you... This is Illumi and Hisoka’s house, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh, wow, I didn't expect you to answer, sweetie. I'm Killua, Illumi's younger brother."

She heard of him from Hisoka. He said Killua was a powerful transmuter and Illu's favorite brother, although they've stopped talking to each other many years ago. Hisoka said he was not an assassin anymore and it had been really tough for Illu to take. That’s why Illu never talked about him. The clown even showed her a photo of the man. Get to talk to him was an excitement.

"Killua! Hi!"

She heard a muffled laugh on the other side. "What's your name?"

"I'm Minke. I'm sorry, but we're in a hurry, they're both in the car already. I can give them a message."

"Oh, thank you, Minke. Are they gonna take you to school?"

"Yeah, but first we'll stop to eat, I hope..."

Another laugh. "oh, wow... Ann... Would you tell Illu he can call me if he wants to?"

"Sure."

"It was really nice to talk to you, I'm looking forward for us to meet, ok?"

"OK! I can't wait to meet you, really. You must be so amazing as well... And your hair looks pretty in the picture."

This time the man laughed more clearly. "Ok, then, sweetie. They must be waiting for you. Good luck with school today. Bye."

"Bye, bye!"

 

\-----

 

"What took you so long?! ♦"

"Sorry..."

"Get a grip, Hisoka. They won't leave without you. Don't worry, Minke, he's just excited cause they have big plans. Not like anyone is really expecting him to show up at the arranged time anyway. You know you're acting like this just cause you’re getting old, right?"

They were on the way. Hisoka went silent.

"Illu! He's not old!"

"Thank you, sweetheart. I guess there's no problem if we get breakfast, then. ♥" She saw the clown's smile through the mirror.

"OH! Illu, Killua asked me to tell you that you can call him whenever you want to."

On the passenger seat, the assassin's whole body slowly turned to face her. "What?"

She could see Hisoka’s dropped jaw through the mirror. Maybe she was in trouble. "Ann... He-he called... When I was leaving the house..."

"You've talked to Killua?"

"Yes..." It was impossible to tell if the man was mad. The completely black eyes were staring right at her.

"Minke, what did you two talk about?"

"Ann... He asked my name and- and if you and Hisoka would take me to school."

"What else?"

"I said I like his hair and that would be awesome to meet him -just cause he said he was looking forward to meet me. Then, he said you could call him if you want to. That was it."

"Oh-" The assassin sat back on his place. "Thank you for giving me the message."

The girl let out a loud sight. "I thought I had done something wrong!"

Hisoka laughed loudly.

 

\-----

 

They left Minke at school and headed to the airport, where Illumi would take a quick flight in order to meet with a client that insisted to negotiate in person.

"So it was Killua that you were talking to, after all. ♥"

The assassin brought both hands to cover his face.

"Illu, what's the matter? Shouldn't you be happy that he's trying to keep in touch? ♥"

"I'm happy, Hisoka. I'm amazingly happy. But I messed up and now he thinks we have a daughter."

The clown stared confused at his husband, but as the picture started to paint itself in his mind, of how did Killua end up thinking that, a smile lighted his face and soon enough the man was laughing to the point of being in tears.

"You seem to have found it really funny."

"Oh, I do! And you haven't corrected him. Why? ♥"

"I-I-I... I was really surprised at the whole situation! When first calling, I was sure he wouldn't talk to me! And there he was, all happy because I have a child and asking me to pay him a visit!"

"And he talked to her today! ♥"

"The parents subject never came up, though."

"How do you know that? ♥"

"I asked her."

Both of them went quiet for a few seconds.

"Illu? ♥"

"Yes?"

"When I went to the restroom... Did you use your nen to get her to repeat the conversation? ♥"

"...Yes."

The laughter that followed was an explosion, the type of laughter the ever so cold man couldn't imagine coming out of no one but his husband.

 

\-----

 

Hisoka would take longer than anticipated to be done with his fight, so Illumi stopped to buy food for Minke and himself on his way to the school. He parked the car a couple of blocks away and walked to the gate, crowded with parents and children. With arms crossed, the quiet figure made his way through the people and got to the reception lady.

"Hi, I'm here for Minke."

She smiled at him when answering. "My dear, I was aware that you would come for her today, but you should know that Minke's father picked her up moments ago."

Her father? So Moto had finally decided to show up? "Oh, I see. Thank you." He turned around to leave.

"Hey, wait!" She shouted.

Still back turned to the lady, Illumi sighed impatiently, blinked a couple of times and only then turned to face her. "Yes?"

"Uh... Look, I don't like the way your husband behaves, but-"

He turned to leave again, long hair as a black curtain between the two of them.

"Wait! Sorry. What I think doesn't matter. Minke is happy."

The man turned his head and side looked at her. "Will you talk?"

"She went home crying. Minke really wanted to be with you guys. Perhaps you could pay her a visit, help her to get along with her father..."

“I'll certainly be visiting them tonight." He left the building.

 

\-----

 

He went home, took a bath, ate by himself and left a note on the fridge for his husband. He even had the time to fill some reports for the Zoldyck's records. Dressed in tight black clothes, he would meet Moto in the most assassin-classic look he could achieve, just for joke in it. Hisoka loved this look. He slided a pair of black gloves up to his elbows and combed the long black hair away from his face, behind his ears. The boots were barely distinguishable from the pants, being just as tight and black. The assassin went out to the back of the apartment, a roofless space that, during the day, fills his home with bright light and warmth. And over the buildings he went, straight to Lexia's house, where he would finally meet his prey.

 

\-----

 

He decided to enter the building as a regular guest.

"Looking good, Mr Zoldyck!" The always cheerful doorman greeted him.

The cold man gave as much as a wave for response, not waiting to see if the other would try to call Lexia's apartment. In less than a minute, he was standing in front of the door and ringing the bell. Moto answered quickly and the assassin was face to face to a massive man, really blonde hair over the slightly red skin. The wide brown eyes and well made mouth, all mixed together with the large nose and large muscle body, made of him an undeniably beautiful man. "Hello, how can I help you?"

The smaller man slipped into the house, leaving a confused host still holding the door. "What do you think you're doing? Get the hell out of my house."

"You should keep your voice low, we don't want to wake up Minke"

Moto went immediately quiet. A few moments passed, Illumi sat on the armchair where the host must have been sitting before his arrival and got hold of a cigarette that was still half smoked on the side table. He watched the other man's confusion through the smoke he so pleased blew. "Oh, I enjoy that. One of the things I can hardly do. It leaves a smell if done often, we can't have that."

As if awakening, the man shook his head and asked: "Who are you? How do you know her name?"

The slender figure crossed his all black legs. "Tough month, I suppose. Did they find about his betrayal?"

Moto's eyes popped. Whoever this man was, he knew too much. If he's some sort of assassin or someone send to fright him, he must get rid of this person fast. He'd been away all that time and still it was in his family's home that they got him. He'd thought it was safe to come home and now, due to his stupidity, his daughter was in the same building as this -whatever kind of thug this man was. "What do you want? I'm not in service right now, and when I'm off, I know nothing that's happening around him."

"Oh, but aren't you a liar? I know you do, Moto. I've seen it."

(...)

"Who are you?"

"Alright, then, let's get into business."

Illumi put the cigarette off on the tray and walked towards the window on the opposite end of the room. "I thought you would at least know the face of the ones you decided to mess with."

The larger man was still holding the door open, frozen in the same position throughout the whole conversation. He cleaned his throat once. "Zo-Zoldyck?"

"Right"

"We- We made a deal with your family. You've been payed for the trouble."

"Sure. You're precious boss made a deal with my family. But, you see, he made a deal for himself, you were not included."

"Are you here to kill me?"

"Oh, no, not just yet." The assassin's voice showed nothing of joy. Brown eyes looked at him in an expression that revealed despair. "So, Moto, you were there, worrying about your boss... Wanna know what I've been up to, that only now I'm reaching you?"

The man nodded.

"Hummm... Minke and I have been training a lot... and I've become good friends with Lexia, you know?"

"Don't you dare to involve them..."

"If you didn't want your family involved, you shouldn't mess with mine."

"Don't hurt them, they don't know anything, it won't do any good..."

Illumi languid moved closer to the man. "Right now, I'm not in the mood to hurt them. But I shall be, depending on how you behave from now on..." Moto was shaking when the assassin touched his hands. "You should ask your wife about us, she'll let you know just how involved they are. They like us so much. Minke has passed so much time with me, cause you're always away... We've been training nen, you know?"

"You... You're Illumi? The one she was crying about?"

"Do you realize how involved she is?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Oh- Nothing, Moto, nothing. Actually, I want you to watch me. As long as you're alive, I'll be around them. So, you better do things the way I want. I'll let you know..."

"Then kill me now. Don't mess with them, just get your revenge already."

"How... hero like... You might be all shaky, but at least you're trying. If you insist... But you should know that if I don't get to play with you and end up killing you now, I'll get rid of them the same way. What use would I have for them?"

A loud cry escaped the larger man. The guest slid a hand through blonde hair, around the neck and approached the other's ear to whisper. "You should not try to stop them from seeing me, that needle will help you out with your tongue..." The needle entered the neck without any difficulty, the pain that spread through Moto's body was way stronger than a regular pin should be capable of, it also didn't happen on the neck, but in his chest and throat, he felt the need to cough.

Illumi saw the child when engaged to her father. Minke stood on the end of the hallway, eyes glued at them and jaw dropped. He winked at her. "Just a reminder that there's one of those in your wife, and another in your daughter, so be careful..."

The tears fell from Moto's eyes as he struggled to keep from sobbing.

The assassin mouthed to her the word ‘hide’ and she did so, stopping only by the bedroom’s door to smile at him.

He let go of the host and made his way to the stairs, leaving behind a man still frozen by fear.


	7. Phone conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi: *staring blankly at a wall* How in the fucking hell have I put myself in this situation?
> 
> Hisoka: *giggles*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not REALLY a chapter... Like... It's just a sneak peek at the upcoming events of this story??? I just thought it wouldn't fit to the next chapter... then, why wait until the next chapter is ready? Anyway, there you Have it!
> 
>  
> 
> ALSO: I'm really sorry if you've received a bunch of notifications about me posting, but something happened and it would post only part of the thing, I was really frustrated... Well, sorry. Sorry if you entered and there was like 5 lines posted and you thought I was insane or something '-'
> 
> I think - I THINK - the error was happening because of the *-_-* on the end of Hisoka's texts (I was using stars and teardrops, not *), so I gave up on that. I don't know if that makes sense, but it worked, that's what I have
> 
>  
> 
> ENJOY <3<3

The woman smiled at the receptionist as she passed through the hall of the hotel. Once out of anyone's sight, she fasted the pace, rushing to her room. She closed the door behind her, back knocking against it. A small, chubby hand made its way to the back of her ear, pulling a hidden needle out of her body. The figure got all distorted, stretching and shrinking in odd ways, till Illumi's shape was restored. Way taller, way thinner them the woman. He took off the shoes, that became unbearably tight and threw himself on the bed, face buried on the pillow.

The cellphone lighted up with a buzz. He brought it closer to his face. Three missed calls, seven text messages, three from Kalluto and four from a random number.

**7:55 from Kalluto -** A child????  
**7:55 from Kalluto -** Father knows?  
**8:20 from Kalluto -** Answer me

Illumi's eyes popped. He should've talked to Killua about it. Killua had told Kalluto. Great. Shit. What now?

Another call. It was Kalluto again, he didn't answer.

**6:32 from Unknown -** Hey, Killua here  
can u come to my house on Saturday night?  
we would like to meet Minke  
bring the clown with u :-)  
**6:33 from Unknown -** Save my number  
**7:10 from Unknown -** Millu keeps saying he wont come over, would u pls make him?? Thx  
**7:56 from Unknown -** Kallu didnt know?

No way he would talk to Kalluto about it now. A vague text should do the job. 

**8:26 to Kalluto -** He doesn't. Busy. Don't tell anyone. 

**8:28 to Hisoka -** I'll be home in a couple of hours. We need to talk.

**8:28 from Hisoka -** I did nothing wrong ***** -_- *****

**8:28 from Kalluto -** You told Killua and not me  
**8:29 from Kalluto -** Thank you for the consideration 

**8:30 from Hisoka -** I wont be home if u r mad ***** -_- *****

**8:30 to Hisoka -** I'm not. Be home, I need you. 

**8:31 from Hisoka -** ok ;9

**8:32 to Hisoka -** Stop with the stupid faces, it's for children. I don't get them. 

**8:32 from Hisoka -** Cause u text like my grandma ***** -_- *****  
**8:33 to Hisoka -** You don't have a grandma. 

**8:33 from Hisoka -** Mean T-T

He buried his face on the pillow once more, wishing the whole situation would solve itself while he took a nap. The assassin dialed Silva’s number without a look to the phone, it was time to report the mission. 

 

\-----

 

Hisoka was wearing nothing but a cooking apron when his husband came home. He had made dinner.

"Illu! ♥" The clown approached the other man, throwing his arms through black hair, around the neck.

Illumi untangled himself from the hug quickly. He sat on the couch and signed a very offended Hisoka to sit next to him. The clown sat on the armchair, far from the other, even though he knew it would not come across as an offense to his dull husband. 

"Hisoka, we need to kill both the parents so we can keep Minke."

A loud laugh came out of him immediately, one that shook the armchair along with his body. There were tears coming out of his eyes when he noticed Illumi's blank stare. 

"What's so funny?"

Never mind the unwelcome behavior, Illu was precious. "Oh my ♥" He couldn't stop laughing. "Because- because you- you can't tell Killua it was a misunderstanding? ♥" 

"Exactly."

Hisoka covered his face with a hand. "Illu... Oh dear- We cannot adopt a child just because your precious brother thinks we did. ♥"

"Why not?" 

"Illu, my love ♥" The clown decided to sit next to the man, after all. "What do you think that would be like? Yes, you would get rid of your problem, but we would become parents. Minke would depend on us all of her life. More important than that, how do you think it would work for us to raise a child whose parents we killed? ♥"

"It would be all right if it was her. I told you she looked happy when seeing what I did to Moto. She likes us."

"Yes, I know. But it's different with the mother. You know she loves her mother. ♥"

"I'm pretty sure she loves us."

"Do you love her? ♥"

"Of course no, why would I?"

"That's my point. ♥"

"But I could, just like with you."

"You love me? ♥" The clown opened a smile. 

"That's not the point."

"Illu, she is not a dog. A child must be the most important person in one's life. To adopt we should be open to love, to change our lives for them. You certainly know what I'm talking about. Think about your parents or even of how much you love your brothers. That's how it must be if we have a child. ♥"

When he was done talking, the assassin was looking at him with a slightly open mouth and, if he dares think it, kind eyes. "What? ♥"

"The way you said it... I didn't know you had this in you."

The pink-haired man who dresses like a clown but was currently almost naked, of all people, blushed. He lowered his eyes for only a moment, then looked at his husband again. "That's also not the point. ♥"

"Sure."

"Look, take this out of your head, ok? ♥"

"But, Hisoka, Killua invited us to his house. The three of us. Not only that, he invited Milluki and Kalluto too."

A playful smile was back to the clown's face. "He invited your parents? ♥"

"No. I imagine father would have told me."

"That's so cute. Siblings reunion. ♥"

"A family reunion, Hisoka. A family reunion with husbands and children."

"Well, child. Unless one of them has a surprise too. ♥"

"Hisoka, _I don't have a surprise_ "

"It will be a surprise when Killua find out you _don't_ have a child. ♥"

"Ha-ha, very funny, clown."

"Bitter. ♥"

"Suggestions? I don't want to ruin it..."

Hisoka held a laugh and, playing with the other's hair, said: "We could ask her to pretend to be our daughter... ♥" 

It was meant as a joke, but the assassin took it very seriously. 

"Do you think she could do that?" He started walking around the room, apparently talking to himself more than with his husband. "She absolutely has some act skills, and I don't think the possibility of we being faking would cross anyone's mind. Well, it could come to Kalluto, but I can tell him the truth. He would be happier than now, cause he thinks I've told Killua before telling him... Do you really think it's a good idea?"

Hisoka could not be grinning wider. "Oh, yeah, great, great idea. ♥"

The assassin raised an eyebrow. "Sure?" 

"Your phone lighted up. ♥"

Illumi grabbed his phone to see what was that about. 

**11:38 from Killua -** will u guys come over?  
she likes fish?

**11:38 to Killua -** We'll be there. She eats anything. 

**11:39 from Killua -** :-D yay 

**11:39 to Killua -** <3

"HEY!" The clown screamed, too close to Illumi's ear. "YOU'VE NEVER SENT ME A HEART! YOU SAID YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT!" 

"Well, you taught me."

 

\-----

 

Lexia's phone rang. Seeing the name on the screen, she picked up right away. "Hisoka, hi!" 

"Hey, how are you? ♦"

"Fine. How about you?"

"Awesome. Thanks. Listen, I'm calling to ask you a favor. ♣"

"I'm all ears."

"I know Moto is home now and you want Minke to spend as much time as possible with her father, but... Tomorrow night, Illu and I will be having dinner at his brother's house, who heard a lot about her... I was thinking, would you allow me to take her with us? We miss her... ♠"

"I see. No problem. She will love to go, I'm sure. Will you be picking her up at home?"

"Whatever is best for you. And I thought maybe we could pick her up a little early? I promise I'll let you have your family time, it's just that we really like her... ♥"

"Sure, sure, she's gonna love that too. Besides, family time has not been that great of a time."

"Why? What's wrong? ♦"

"Nothing special, but Moto is acting weird. I guess he's jealous that we all got so close while he was away. And Minke is rather disappointed that she's not spending much time with you guys anymore..."

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble... ♣"

"Oh, no, don't be. You and Illu have been so wonderful to us. Of course, I'm also missing our conversations, almost as much as she is."

"Then we shall meet and talk. You can tell me all about how the situation really is. ♠"

Little Minke entered the room and climbed the bed. 

"I sure will love that. Wanna talk to her?"

"Who is it?" The girl put her ear as close to the phone as she was able to.

"Can I? I would love to. ♥"

"IT'S HISOKA!"

"Shhhh- calm down and I'll give you the phone in a moment."

The child was on her knees, looking at her mother with the cutest puppy eyes she could manage. 

"What time tomorrow?"

"Around 3? ♦"

"Fine. I'm gonna give her the phone now, before she burst into tears. See you."

"Goodnight, darling. ♣"

Minke grabbed the phone and thrown herself on the bed. "Hiiii" The mother went back to the work she had been doing on the computer. 

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you? ♥"

"I miss you, I will go with mom wherever it is that you are going." She smiled when heard Hisoka’s laughter.

"Are you mom hearing us? ♦"

The girl made sure to lower the volume of the device and to role a little further away from her mother. 

"No. Why?"

"Hum- Tomorrow, you will meet Killua, remember him? ♣"

"REALLY?"

"You should stop screaming, it's annoying. ♠"

"Sorry."

"I'm gonna ask you something you mom should not know about, ok? ♥"

"Ooook..."

"Don't you dare to scream, cause I know you're gonna like it. While we are with Illu's family, could you pretend to be our daughter? ♦"

She had to bite her hand to not scream in excitement. "For real?" 

"Yes. I'll explain everything tomorrow, but Illu's family believes he has a daughter, and we want you to help us to keep it that way. Would you? ♣"

"Yes, yes, yes! Of course!"

"So be prepared to that, I'll pick you up at three. Goodnight. ♥"

"Ok, goodnight, Hisoka."

Minke gave the phone back to her mother and rushed to her room, doubting she would be able to sleep at all that night.


	8. Family reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi takes Minke to meet his family  
> It is so much more than he expected
> 
> Sort of weird situation, Hisoka loves it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys!
> 
> There was an apk I used to write, then I threw it away... Do I keep backups? Of fanfiction? Sure... Yeah, no, I don't. I almost didn't cry! HAHAHA (the despair) 
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> I'm really sorry it took me so much time, but I have the time and the will to write a lot more now, so let's do it!
> 
> As usual, I hope you like it <3
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos, btw :D

"Why are we waiting here... dad?" They were standing in front of the building for a couple of minutes, waiting.

"We're waiting for the right time." Illumi responded without looking at her. Minke wondered if he was nervous. He didn't seem nervous at all, but even if he was, he always had the same calm blank expression. She thought that beautiful.

To her, he looked especially good tonight, the long hair tied on the back of his neck, held together with a shiny butterfly the girl herself had chosen this afternoon with Hisoka. She approached the clown and sat by his side. 

"Don't worry, we'll be here for three more minutes and then we're in. ♦"

"Why? What time is it?"

"5:57 ♣" She raised her arms in a question sign. "Illu was asked to be here at 6. ♠"

She laughed. "Being a few minutes early seems ok to me."

"If Killua had said 'around 6' we would be inside already. Illu overthinks this type of thing. ♥"

"Because... he's nervous?" 

"Naaa... I don't think so. Actually, he would never be nervous at such a trivial situation. That's what he does regularly. ♦"

Hisoka was beautiful too, with his always well painted face and a really dramatic pair of earrings they also bought together a few ours ago.

The clown had bought her a full outfit and she loved it, a loose red dress with white sleeves and lapel. He made her wear long white socks and red shoes that made her feel like a character from a fairy tale. She even had a red bow on her hair. 

"Ok, let's go in now." Illumi said, offering her a hand. She took it with a smile.

At what she imagined should be exactly 6pm, Illu rang the bell at his brother's door. The man she knew to be Killua answered, smiling at them when he opened the door. "Aniki, please, do come in." There was a slightly weird moment where the two men didn't seem to know how to greet one another, but they ended up sharing a quick hug. She felt the need to laugh, but didn't. Hisoka did. Next, the white-haired man shook hands with the clown and then lowered himself in front of her. "Hi, Minke." He smiled kindly. 

She kissed his cheek and smiled back. "Hi, Killua."

They had entered directly in the living room, that was pretty crowded. Close to Killua stood a black-haired, really muscular guy, who seemed specially cheerful. On a couch was a fat man with short, black hair, busy with a cellphone, the only one that wasn't looking at the three newcomers. This one was surely one of Illu's brothers, they were very much alike. Right next to him sat a woman, with black hair to her shoulders and violet eyes, who also looked a lot like Illu. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, frantically bouncing one leg and looking at them in undeniable expectation. The last one in the room was a woman, probably also from Illu's family, with long black hair and excited blue eyes, she had a wide smile on.

Once the door was closed, the man next to Killua promptly hugged Hisoka. "Gon! ♥"   
They exchanged a few words and the guy moved to hug Illu, who took a step back, arching his body away from the man's arms. They stared at each other for awhile, then the assassin offered a hand and Gon shook it, laughing. 

As expected, Gon lowered himself in front of her. "Hi there!" 

He looked like an overexcited mountain. "Hi..."

"I was so looking forward to meet you. You're so pretty, I love this dress! Hope you like us and our house!" He put his thumb up. She just smiled kindly. 

Hisoka took her in his arms. "Let me take this girl here to greet everyone. ♦" They went towards the woman sitting alone, while Illu moved to the other two.

"Minke, this is Alluka, Illu's sister. Alluka, this is Minke, our daughter. ♣" The clown had a playful smile on his face, as usual. 

"Hisoka." She kissed his cheek and also Minke's. "I still do not believe this is happening. I'm so happy." She smiled, using the back of her hand to stroke the little girl's face. 

“May I say something? You look amazing, the boobs are perfect. ♠” Hisoka could be really weird from time to time, Alluka didn’t seem to mind though.

“Oh, thanks! They still a bit swollen, but I don’t think it will change much from now on.”

Although the clown would clearly appreciate to continue the talk, Illu was already waiting for them to move, and so they did.

The woman practically jumped on them. She was beautifully dressed in those Japanese outfits Minke had only seen in movies, all decorated with a pattern of origami white flowers. "Hi, Minke!" 

The girl smiled at her, purple eyes so beautiful that she felt a little dizzy. "Hi"

"Let me hold you, please. Hisoka, can I?" 

Hisoka looked at the child and Minke held her arms high to be taken. "Sure. ♠"

The woman held her tightly. "It's so, so good to meet you. My name is Kalluto, I'm Illumi's youngest brother."

"Brother?"

She heard Hisoka’s loud laugh. The woman laughed too. It took the girl a while to realize what were them laughing about. The temperature of her face rose quickly. 

"Yes, brother." He was still laughing. "Don't be embarrassed. Did you think me a beautiful woman?" The girl shyly nodded. "Then, we're good."

"Will these greetings be over soon, please?" Illu was standing next to Hisoka. 

Kalluto sat, with Minke in his arms, next to the other guy.   
"Look, Millu, it's actually nii-sama's daughter."

The man left the phone aside to look at her. "Hi, Minke."

"Hi... Millu?" 

He smiled. "Yes. Milluki. Nice to meet you."

"You too." Milluki looked at Illumi, then at Hisoka, then back at her and smiled. He kissed her cheek.

"Kalluto can sit next to Alluka, so Hisoka and Illumi can sit together there." Killua said, gesturing to the space near his sister. 

"I won't sit next to that traitor."

"C'mon, I've already confirmed it had been less than a day when we called you. Forgive us."

"I forgive you, Killua. But she should've told me, we spoke before that!" Although complaining, he moved to sit next to her. 

"Kalluto, I-" Illu went towards his brother. "-I would tell everyone at once, but when I called to know if Killua would accept meeting us, Hisoka and Minke came into the room making a lot of noise, and that's why they ended up knowing before you. I promise it was like this." 

Kalluto smiled. "I'm not really mad, not anymore." He kissed the little girl’s forehead. "How could I be?" 

"Then, you two sit here." Gon signed. "The smaller home thing has been great for us, but when it comes to Killua's family reunions, we might consider do it in a bigger place next time, huh?" He waited for the two men to sit and went to the kitchen. Killua sat on a chair they must have brought from somewhere else in the house.

"How old are you?" Alluka asked the girl at her side.

"Six, almost seven."

Gon was back with drinks. He put the tray on the center table, but handled a drink to Kalluto. "And you? Are you good with strawberry juice?" She nodded. He gave her the only cup that was different from the others and petted her hair. "That's a pretty bow."

"Daddy bought it to me today."

"I don't think I need to ask which one." All of them laughed, even Illumi, although in a much more discreet way. Gon sat on a chair next to Killua. 

They spent some time chatting. Hisoka and Gon engaged in a really cheerful story about Greed Island, they spoke so fast that Killua had time only to nod when asked for confirmation. 

The way Illumi would show love for his brother beside him really caught Minke’s attention, multiple times he held Milluki’s head and kissed him on the temple. The assassin looked in peace, as if lighter than the girl had ever seen him. Hisoka too seemed happy, way more talkative than his husband, he barely had time to touch his drink. Minke knew she would have a great time there.

 

\-----

 

This whole night provoked feelings Illumi had never felt before. When he saw Killua’s face smiling at him at the door, his heart acted weird, as if the next beat was longer, stronger than all the others. He didn’t know one could feel happiness so deep within oneself. Although every action was new, and the assassin was caught in several situations where he didn’t know how to proceed, it was right there at the door, right there on his little brother’s smile, that he decided he ought to do anything that was necessary to have this again.

No, he wouldn’t allow Gon to hug him, but maybe, just maybe, he could endure the company of the brat so the smile would go on.

He turned to the people on the couches. His family, his beautiful and broken family. He felt heat calmly filling his body when seeing the usual scene of Milluki holding his phone, head down, face lighted by the screen. He could not explain properly what that heat meant, but he knew it was good, it felt like home.

Kalluto looked so pretty. They never stopped seeing or talking to each other, but it was many years ago that the boy used a yukata so beautifully done for the last time, at least in the presence of the older brother. Through the anxiety the boy showed, Illumi saw curiosity and hope making purple eyes shine, something unseen since before the boy joined the troupe, since times the assassin could not truly remember.

His chest was a battlefield when he turned to Alluka. Anger and remorse he held within himself for so many years versus a hope Illumi knew he wasn’t entitled to. Killua had chosen her over him, Killua loved her more. She and Gon were the reasons Killua went away. But there she was, as pretty as Kalluto, a grown-up woman that looked a lot like their mother, smiling. Why was she? A bit of that anger burned inside him. She shouldn’t smile, she should run. Had the assassin got his way, she would be dead by now. How could she be smiling? And why was he happy with that? He didn’t need forgiveness, he wasn’t wrong, they were… But still he hoped, he hoped deep inside his being, that he would be forgiven.

Illumi noticed a lot of striking, though subtle, things happening that night. When Kalluto called Milluki, telling the latter about their brother’s daughter, the assassin expected the same muffled response Millu gives to everything. It didn’t happen. Instead, Milluki had looked at Minke, smiled at her, even kissed her. The whole evening, Milluki interacted with the child, ending up engaging in conversations with others in the room, sharing some laughs. He must have broken some kind of personal record there, he barely touched a phone till the moment they said goodbye. Sat beside him, the assassin couldn’t stop himself from being amazed. He would look at Milluki’s face as if it was the first time, he’d never noticed how handsome of a man Millu was. They looked very much alike, though the younger man was paler than him and had much more rounded face features. He had something of a beard, not much, maybe a few days old. Illumi wondered if that was intentional. Enjoying more than anyone this change in attitude, the assassin hugged and kissed his brother as if it was his last chance.

How interesting was the relationship Killua and Gon developed with Hisoka. That island boy was so devoted to his good actions and judgement that was hard to believe he could get along so well with such a pervert murder. It was like all the bad things the clown does were deliberately put aside for a while, though, honestly, the same had to be done for half of the adults there.

Noticing how close was Alluka and Kalluto’s relationship was sort of weird, too. Illumi wasn’t aware they spoke so often. He found out later that they go out almost every weekend, to the same clubs, share the same ‘friends’. Yeah, Kalluto does have friends, that was also something the older brother had to get used to. The ‘assassins don’t need friends’ bullshit - as grampa had called it - had been abandoned years ago, but it was still hard to swallow.

 

\-----

 

They consumed a lot of alcohol, not enough to get a Zoldyck dizzy, but it allowed them to get a little more loose, to share some louder laughs. By the end of their dinner - fish, Gon had cooked it, it tasted good -, all the siblings were telling Hisoka and Minke silly things about their lives in the estate, making fun of Silva tough appearance, when he’s actually a really sweet father. They couldn’t avoid talking about mother, though it was easy to see how careful everyone became at the mention of her. They talked about grampa a lot, too. And about the hidden places on the mountain, the hide-and-seek games inside the main house, the amount of trouble the youngers were to the butlers and to Illumi.

“And is Minke like that too? Uh, little one, how much trouble are you giving them?” Killua asked as he touched Illumi’s arm, sitting beside him at the table, and smile to Minke and Hisoka.

Minke only smiled at him and then looked at Hisoka, laughing when the clown’s eyes popped ridiculously. “By what yall saying, she’s much more like Illu. ♥” He ran his hands through her hair, then squeezed her cheek gently. “You scream, though. Don’t you? A lot. ♦” 

“I STOPPED THAT” She screamed, closing her mouth with a hand immediately after. Everyone laughed, so did she. “I’m sorry, daddy”

Minke was enjoying the whole parents thing, she would not spare a chance to call them ‘dad’, ‘father’ and, as Hisoka had personally asked for, ‘daddy’.

“How long has it been since you’re together?” Gon asked.

“Me and Hisoka?”

“No. You, Hisoka and Minke. I mean, I know how long you and Hisoka have been together as a couple.”

“Do you? ♣” Hisoka said, widening a grin.

Gon blushed. “I- Officially. I know how long you’ve been together after you became official… I guess…” 

“That-” Killua said, pointing from Illumi to Hisoka, with a grossed out expression “-happened a lot before, uh?”

Hisoka laughed out loud. “I know what you wanna know. You want to know if that happened during the hunter exam, don’t you? ♠” 

Now was Killua’s turn to blush. Indeed, he wondered about it many times.

“Well, Killu, you should know your brother would not be able to resist me long- ♥”

“AAH, we’ve adopted her very recently. No more than a month ago.” Illumi used his hand to shut his husband up and talked over him.

Killua and Gon were hiding their faces in their hands, Milluki had the most genuine expression of disgust on his face. Alluka and Kalluto just laughed.

“We’re all grown-ups now, you know? You guys can abandon this bullshit. Your brother has sex with that weird-ass clown, get over it.” Kalluto said, rolling his eyes and going for his drink.

“Kalluto, there’s a child here” Scolded Alluka. “Don’t listen to him, Minke, he’s drunk.”

“I’m not drunk, shut up” He smiled to make sure no one thought he was mad.

“Dad said Zoldycks don’t get drunk”

“About that… Do you intend to train her?” Killua shyly asked.

Illumi was still thinking about what to say when Minke answered. “Of course!”

The room went quiet. A few glances were shared. Minke slowly realized she said something wrong, her heart beating faster and faster with every second of silence.

“I won’t force her to anything. I’m passed that.” Illumi stated.

“... good. That’s good, I think…” 

More silence followed. Hisoka was the one to break it, though in a much more serious way than his usual tone.

“You guys stop that. The girl wants to be like her father, so let her be. She keeps asking Illu to train her, ok? Don’t you go keeping all those grudges. She won’t go through the same things as you did, Killua, and she won’t be forced to anything. Is that, ok? ♦”

Killua smiled, somewhat relieved. “Yes, you’re right. As weird as it may sound, Hisoka, you’re right.”

“Yeah, you’re the lucky one, Minke, Illu-nii is the best trainer ever.” Kalluto winked at his oldest brother.

“I think this means Kalluto had enough to drink, uh?” Teased Milluki, taking the glass away from his brother, provoking laughs and indignation throughout the table.

 

\-----

 

They all left late, around midnight. Surprisingly, Minke was still awake, though less energetic than before.

“Maybe next time could be at my house. I got plenty of space.” Milluki invited as he stood by the door. “I also have a dog.”

“I love dogs, they’re so soft. What’s its name?” Questioned the little girl, already excited with the possibility of these events happening more than once.

“Oh, no.” Everyone looked at Kalluto when he spoke. “You won’t believe the name of that dog… Ugh, why, nii-san, why?”

Immediately, everyone turned to Milluki again. “Well, that’s… His name is Cat.”

Most of the people in the room laughed, only Kalluto rubbed the palm of his hand against his face and cried out a bit. “That’s ridiculous, Millu.”

“Why is it? ♠”

“You see, I live with a friend, he grew up speaking another language and, before, didn’t seem to get the dog and cat words right. When we got the dog, what else could I call it?”

“Wait, what?” Illumi was too strongly surprised to share the laughter that followed. He knew his brother had left the estate, but never crossed his mind that Milluki could get close enough to anyone to the point of living together.

“Don’t worry, Illu-nii. It’s not important, that’s why I’ve never told you. Kalluto is just too nosy, so he figured out.”

“Who- who’s the guy?”

“Someone I met in an online game many years ago.” Milluki was getting a little worried about Illumi’s reaction, perhaps he should had thought better before talking about it. “The dog is not ours, it’s mine. The-the-the name is just a joke… He has a cat, too… You see, I have my things, he has…”

The assassin smiled to his brother. “Is it Dog?”

Milluki went quiet. He was so nervous that the question almost didn’t make to his ears. “What?”

“The name of the cat, is it Dog?”

Hisoka’s laughter was heard loud and clear, then the others followed, including Milluki and Illumi.

“No, it’s Brenda”

“ISN’T THAT SHIT ANNOYING?” Kalluto screamed from his side of the room.

“No, Brenda is a good name. We shall meet again in Millu’s home, then.” Illumi waited for confirmation. “Minke, have you said goodbye to everyone?”

“I guess so.”

“No, you didn’t.” The complaint came from Alluka, who was standing next to Gon, a little bit further away from the door.

“Go say goodbye to my sister.”

Kalluto jumped off the couch. The rest of the grown-ups was paralysed from a wave of shock. Alluka’s face lighted up in a smile covered with tears. Illumi didn’t get it. He panicked for a second, thinking he had done something wrong, something that would ruin their night.

“You’ve never called me sister before.”

As she said that, Illumi looked around the room. All of his brothers were smiling, Kalluto was crying. For many years now, he thinks about her as a woman, and speaks of her that way too. Hisoka had talked some sense into him about that a long time ago, but, as the man noticed just in that moment, he never said it too her.

“I’m sorry about that, Alluka. You are my sister, I’m the one who should’ve realized this earlier, so don’t cry.”

Killua, who was standing next to his older brother, hugged him. His face buried on the older man’s chest, his tears wetting the fabric of the other’s clothes. It was not like the quick hug they shared when first coming into the house, there was no weirdness in this one. It felt real, warm. They knew what to do with their hands, Killua grabbed his brother torso, an effort to being as close as he could to him, with no perspective of letting go. Illumi ran his hands through white hair desperately, feeling something he never imagined could be his again.

 

\-----

 

Hisoka wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes when they went to the car. He put Minke inside in safety and waited till Illu was on his seat before starting to drive.

“Did you like them, Minke? ♣”

“A lot!” She noticed she was too loud. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop that.”

“They liked you a lot, too, I think. ♦”

“I hope so. Kalluto is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. He’s so… I don’t know, his eyes were so amazing...”

“He looks like a painting, doesn’t he?”

“They’re all very beautiful, but Kalluto is-” Just to think of him, Minke felt her little heart filling with joy and a sensation she was still not able to define. She wanted to see him again, many times if possible, though she would probably never forget this night.

“I think someone is in love, uh? ♠” Her face went all red. “Oh my, is that it? That’s beautiful ♣” Said the clown, extending the last word to tease the girl.

“Let her be, Hisoka. It’s ok, Minke, Kallu really is... captivating.” Said the assassin, smiling with closed eyes. 

“Captivating.♥”

 

\-----

 

When they got home, Minke was already sleeping. She was carried by the clown to the guest bedroom, where he laid her on the bed, taking away her shoes and making sure she was well covered.

Entering their bedroom, Hisoka saw his husband sitting by the bed, head turned down, black hair surrounding him, his hands strongly pinching his knees.

“Is that so wrong?”

“What, my dear? ♥”

The younger man looked at him, face unchanged, other than the tears that ran down his cheeks.

“To want that. To wish all of this wasn’t a lie. What we had tonight… I want it, Hisoka. I want my family back.”

“No, it’s not. ♥” The man approached his husband, kneeling in front of him, hands pulling back the hair from his lovely face. “We’ll get this for you, ok? ♥”

“But you said…”

“I know what I said. It doesn’t matter. You know this was not about her, don’t you? Tonight, I mean. We can tell them the adoption didn’t work out and we’re gonna have to wait for another child. They’ll understand it, they’ll be around for us. ♥”

“Then we’ll look for another child?”

“Is that something you want? ♥”

“Yes. I want that…” The assassin grabbed the front of the other’s shirt. “I want a baby, you know… I’m sorry about that, but I… I’m good at it. It was- It was not my fault.”

“You’re good at everything, love.” He hugged him. “Starting tomorrow, we’re gonna get your family back. ♥”


	9. Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New family dynamics start to happen while old ones just won't stop hurting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this a chapter?  
> Is that a chapter?  
> KIND OF!
> 
> I'm sorry, I don't even know what's happening in my life at this point i-i  
> But at least all is planned and it seems like it's gonna be 13 chapters long?
> 
> Thank you for being patient and coming back for this, it means a lot <3  
> Also, I'll be responding to some old comments, sorry I didn't do that before, it was not my intention to be rude, every and each comment is really important to me :-)

“Thank you again.” Lexia had half of her body inside the car, through the window. She seemed worried, eyes swollen from crying. The lights of the police station shined against the already dark sky when the mother placed a last tired kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “And you, my dear, behave yourself, ok?”

“Ok…” Minke was still eating the snacks mommy gave her on the way from school.

“Then goodbye, darling. Goodbye, Illu.” She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, though he couldn’t see it.

Illumi turned on the radio, old music filling the silence. “You’re quiet.”

The pause that followed lasted longer than he expected. “Was he arrested for something you told him to do?”

“Yes.” There’s no point in lying, the girl knew pretty well what the situation between them and her father was. “I needed information about a drug dealer, he was just perfect.”

“I see.”

“Are you mad?” He looked at her through the mirror.

“Why would I be?”

“You’re too quiet.”

“She was crying, I don’t like that.”

“Doesn’t it make you mad at me?”

“It makes me mad at him, and maybe at her, I don’t know.”

Illumi fetched his phone and typed a texted to Kalluto. The reply came almost immediately. “Would you smile if I told you that Kalluto will be with us tonight?”

Her face brightened and blushed at the mention of his name. “For real?” He nodded, she smiled.

 

\-----

 

“Hello, Mr. Morrow?”

“Yes. ♠”

“It’s from Yorknew City Orphanage, how are you doing this evening?”

“Oh- Wonderful, thank you… Aaan… Yourself? ♣”

“Good, thank you. We have your papers here, would you and your husband be able to be here tomorrow morning for an interview?”

“Ye-yes, sure… What time? ♦”

“We open at 8, you can come anytime before 12. Would that be ok?”

“Sure. We’ll be there first thing in the morning. Thank you. ♥”

“Ok, thank you. Have a great evening.”

Hisoka sat on the couch, heart beating too fast. He closed his eyes and notice that, for the first time in years, he was shaking. 

 

\-----

 

Kalluto was sat on the bed with the girl in between his legs, brushing her hair while chatting.

“I’m a bit disappointed with Hisoka, this bedroom is too boring. Tomorrow they’ll be out, so I’ll be the one taking care of you-”

“REALLY?” She immediately covered her mouth with a hand.

“Yeah. Let’s text Alluka and go out shopping for things for your bedroom?”

“Yeees, let’s do thaaat!” The girl whispered, holding back from screaming.

Kalluto finished braiding her hair and turned off the room lights, leaving a table lamp on. Back to the mattress, he pulled her closer and pulled the covers over them.

Her heart raced and once again she was warm. He was so pretty and so gentle, Minke was always forgetting he wasn’t a girl.

“Minke? Are you ok?”

“What? Ah- sorry…”

“Are you feeling ok? You were suddenly so quiet…”

“I- I was just… Kallu, why do you dress like a girl?”

He laughed and she blushed. “I dress like myself, darling, like everyone else.”

“So, are you a girl?”

“Well, no, not exactly. I like to be a boy, but I also like to be a pretty girl.”

“You’re prettier than any girl I have ever met. Actually, you're the most beautiful person I have ever seen.”

He brushed his nose on her cheek. “You don't think Alluka prettier than me?”

“NO!” His eyes widened because of her scream. “I mean… Sorry. What I think is, you two look very much alike, and you're both very beautiful, but I like you the most, you dresses nicer and your eyes are so lovely and your hair is-”

She stopped when notice him laughing quietly. “You are just so sweet, I love you.”

Minke hugged his chest and he held her close. “I love you too, uncle.”

 

\-----

 

At 8:30 they were in the waiting room. Short after, they met with the woman who was responsible for the facility. She had their file and was excited to receive two hunters at her office. Being a hunter seemed to make everything easier there too, they put great trust in the association. After a few questions about their life and jobs, and also a long talk about the type of kid they would receive and how to deal with the time between meeting the child for the first time and effectively adopting them, they were free.

They went to a caffè not too far away. Hisoka had left without eating and he wouldn’t shut up about it.

“I’ll never get used to you eating such things in the morning.” Illumi pointed to the huge slice of chocolate cake Hisoka had ordered and to the desert the man called a coffee, it was almost all made of caramel and whipped cream.

Hisoka looked at the black coffee in front of the other man, the cup was empty, the espresso shot long gone, even though he himself hadn’t had the time to take more than a sip of his drink. He took the chocolate truffle that decorated his cake and placed it on the assassin’s lips, smiling when the other accepted it. “You’re too cute. ♥”

Illumi kissed his hand before let him go. “I’m happy.”

“Is that so? ♥”

“I thought it would take a lot of time.”

He nodded. “We better let Lexia know we’re having a child visiting us this weekend, so she can get someone else to take care of Minke. ♥”

The long-haired man assumed a confused expression, to the point of tilting his head. “I thought it would be good to have Minke there… I would like her to be there.”

“Illu, she won’t like it. She won’t like it at all. ♥”

“Why not? She has to like our child after all.”

“Why? How long do you intend to keep this going? ♥”

“With her father? Not long, but I intend to keep seeing her.”

“For what reason? ♥”

“She needs me.” The puzzled face clown didn’t seem satisfied. “Her mother won’t train her, I have to do it.”

“You’ll be busy with our child. ♥”

“She’ll be a good model for them. We can handle.”

“If you say so. ♥”

“You accompanying me today?”

Illumi didn’t wait for an answer, standing up and heading to the door. The clown shoved the rest of his cake down his throat and followed his husband, he better hurry or Illu might kill everybody by his own.

 

\-----

 

Shopping with Kalluto and Alluka was everything Minke could hope for and more. They went to so many stores she couldn’t even count anymore, they tried clothes and bought all sort of cute things for _her room_. The two of them were visibly close, one could hardly tell they’re not twins.

By lunchtime, they went to a fancy restaurant Alluka kept talking about, it was a bit far from the stores they were in, but Minke doubted there was anything left for them to buy. They were almost done when a tall man approached their table. He had white hair down to his shoulders and blue eyes. It took the Zoldycks some time to realize their father was standing next to them, but once they did, all chatter died and they got to their feet.

“Father” Alluka was the first one to talk, moving to hug the man. “What a good surprise.”

“Dear” The man kissed her forehead. “Kalluto?” He opened his arms and Kalluto joined them. “And you are?”

Minke had her mouth slightly opened while staring at the man. He was obviously Illu’s father. Kalluto spoke before she could think of anything to say.

“This is Minke, we’re shopping together today.”

The man smiled at them. “Shopping? With a child? Where are her parents?”

“They- We- It’s just us today.”

“But who are them?”

The youngest Zoldyck couldn’t bring himself to answer. What should he say, his friends? They were allowed to have friends now, but that was not something Kalluto would talk about at home.

“Their my friends, a very special couple I know.” Alluka stated in his place.

“I see… Would you care to join us? Your mother is waiting.”

“We’re almost do-”

“She’s waiting, I’ll ask them to move you.”

 

\-----

 

Illumi’s mother greeted them excitedly. “My babies, I’m so happy.” One at a time, she took their face in her hands, looking at their eyes through the weird screen on her face, covering them in kisses. “You don’t visit me anymore, Alluka. You look so beautiful.”

“Thanks, mom. You too look amazing.”

She did. Minke could only imagine what her face looked like, but she was fine dressed in a red gown and had stones decorating her neckline and hair.

“And you, who are you, sweetie?” She said turning to the girl.

“I- I- Minke…” She was a bit dazzled, it was Illumi’s mother.

“Alluka is taking care of a friend’s daughter, isn’t it?” Silva clarified, signing for everyone to sit down.

“Is that so? What friend? Where did you meet them?”

“I- I-” Alluka didn’t know the right thing to say. She was sure Illumi hadn’t told them about the child yet, but wouldn't it be worst if she lied?

“Can’t you tell me? Why?”

“Kikyo, don’t.” Silva seemed apprehensive as well.

“Would you tell me, Kallu?”

Kalluto shivered. “Mother…”

“Of course you won’t. I don’t deserve to know, right? I’m used to it.”

“Oh, please…”

“Out of patience already, husband? Of course… I’ve devoted my life to this family, to raise five children so they can all treat me like-”

“Mom…” Kalluto had tears in his eyes. “Don’t say such things, you know I love you…”

“Then who are them? How can you say so, sweetie, if you won’t even tell me that?”

“Kallu, no…” Alluka tried to stop him.

“She is aniki’s daughter.”

“What?!” Both parents asked simultaneously.

“Killua’s daughter?” Silva asked, looking from one of his children to the other.

“Damn it, Kallu…” Alluka stood up, looking around. “Minke, would you accompany me to the toilette, dear?”

Knowing that was not really a question, the girl stood up and followed the woman.

“No, not Killua’s.”

They went silent for a moment.

“Illumi’s daughter?”

Kalluto just nodded to his father.

“Son, what are you talking about?” He asked calmly.

“I shouldn’t- Ah, Illumi is gonna kill me.”

“You’re insane, Kalluto.” His mother stated, looking directly at him. “If Illumi had a daughter don’t you think I would be the first one to know?”

Mother’s words hurt him, they always did. He didn’t answer, the knot in his throat wouldn’t allow it.

“Would you explain?” 

“Stop that, Silva. This kid is out of his mind.”

“Kikyo, stop. Son?”

Tears came out in spite of his fighting to keep them in. “It’s true. He and Hisoka adopted a child. Minke.”

“You’re lying.” She said harshly. “Aren’t you a bit too old for this kind of intrigue? Your need of attention sure-”

“Enough already.” Silva almost screamed over his wife. “Why didn’t your brother tell us?”

“I think it could still be revoked, maybe that’s why…”

Kikyo started to cry to the point of sobbing next to her husband.

“Mom…” Kalluto touched her hand.

“You never come to see me, none of you. Was I that bad? Even you, my baby, you used to love me, you know?”

“I lov-”

“Don’t.” She placed a finger over his lips. “You don’t need to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying…”

“Dear, I’ll be waiting in the car, don’t take too long.” Before leaving the table, she held Kalluto’s chin and kissed his lips. “No matter how much you disappoint me, I love you, baby. My baby boy. Don’t forget that.”

They watched as she left, Kalluto’s makeup stained from tears that continued to fall after she was gone.

“That’s huge, Illumi should have told me.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t.”

“Probably not. But I don’t think Illumi will blame you for not lying to your mother, he knows better than that.”

The boy just shared a bitter laugh.

“Will you be ok?”

“Yeah, just go away.”

“Call me if you need anything. I love you.”

“I will.”

Silva kissed his head before leaving.

“I love you too.”

 

\-----

 

When they returned to table, there was no one there. The waitress explained the couple had left a while ago and Kalluto had moved to the bar. Alluka called for the butler that was acting as their driver to get the car ready.

“Minke, wait for me in the car, would you?”

She spotted Kalluto by the bar in no time and went towards him.

“Is it bad?” She hugged him from behind. “Brother, is the middle of the day…”

“Can you blame me?” 

“Are you drunk?”

“You know it takes a lot of alcohol to-”

“I know, but are you?”

“You weren’t gone for long enough.”

“Good. Let’s go, Minke is waiting in the car.”

 

\-----


	10. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illumi goes talk with his parents while Hisoka has a nice little chat with his friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! You guys are so nice to me, thank you for all the support.  
> Not that big of a chapter, but this is getting close to the end and the next couple should be longer.  
> Have fun :D

"Do you think he's gonna like it?" Illumi had the fridge open, he was checking for the hundredth time everything they bought to receive the boy the institution would send to meet them in three days.

"I think he'll love it ♥"

"What if he's not into sweets?"

"What kind of kid isn't? You're worrying too much. ♥"

"What if he's vegan?"

"... he's 7 ♥"

"Minke is 6, if she can have opinions like that-"

"You're overthinking. Could you please close that thing? ♥"

Illumi sighed before closing the door. "Let's get the room ready." 

The guest room would become the child's bedroom until they moved to a house. Right now it was a beautiful room, but all the furniture was white and pale shades of brown, so they decided to make it look a little more appealing for the visit day.

"Ok, but what's that? ♦" Hisoka looked at a totally different room. From curtains to lamps, it was all changed. The cabinets were the same as before, but even the mirror frame had been replaced. 

A man wearing black suit stopped fluffing pillows when saw the two of them entering. "Master Illumi, Mr Morow, good afternoon." He adjusted his hair and proceeded, seeing that no response would follow. "Master Kalluto sent me here with the mission to properly install the things he, his sister and his niece bought today."

"His what?" Illumi must not have heard right.

"Pardon, sir?" The man was awfully uncomfortable. He adored Master Kalluto and would die defending him, but asking him to invade Illumi's property and, as a bonus, have to deal with the clown was cruelty.

"Who you said bought it?"

"Master Kalluto did."

A vein visibly popped on Illumi's temple. "Get out of my house."

"Immediately, Master Illumi." He silently thanked the gods and left the house.

"He said niece. ♥"

"Oh no, oh no, no, please don-" His phone was ringing.

"Who is it? ♥" Asked the clown, knowing pretty damn well who was it.

"Father." The assassin gulped and answered. "Fath-"

"Come to the estate, we have to talk." Silva hang up.

 

\-----

 

The initial shock of having his parents knowing about Minke had passed, and Illumi arrived at Kukuroo Mountain in peace, knowing well what expected him and what he had to do.

Mom was always a problem for his brothers, controlling and possessive to the point of cracking them. Well, cracking Milluki and Kalluto. Illumi wished they would understand how to deal with their parents. It was not difficult, but still it seemed too much for them. Millu spent his whole life trapped in a bedroom, hiding away who knows what from. Kallu visibly suffered, too much of a loving a child to leave mother, but not mentally strong enough to endure her. At least Killua fought against it and never fell into her cobweb, taking Alluka with him. And himself never really had to worry about it. Yes, she could be annoying, but he never failed to deliver the truth. At all times she knew what he did, thought or felt, and that's all she wanted.

When he entered their room, Kikyo was sobbing on her husband's shoulder.

"Tell me it is not true, that you did not lie to your mother like that!" She cried out, stepping away from Silva, going towards her son.

He could see the tears shining on her cheeks and over the swollen red lips. She was wearing the undergarments of one of her dresses. No pearls or stones. Her hair falling loose over shoulders and breasts.

Oh, how she tried. But they both knew that long gone was the boy who would fell for this, for that image full of memories, a Kikyo that ceased existing when he was just a kid. It might had worked had she taken the screen off so he could see her crying eyes, but not this way, he had grown much stronger than that.

But there would come a final hit, he knew, and he waited.

She held his face with both hands, bringing him slightly down, and kissed his lips.

Illumi could taste the salty tears. He could vaguely smell her perfume. But what truly surprised him was that the only thing he could hear was Hisoka's voice in his head, telling him that this was so fucked up. He fought a laugh.

"It is not true, mother."

She threw herself in his arms. "See, dear husband, I told you, that boy is out of his mind. But it is our fault, we should have known better than to have more children when we already had Kil-”

"Don't say such things and expect them to not hate you." The son was harsh, but wrapped his arms around her anyway, and kissed her forehead. "Now, sit, I have much to explain."

He told them all about his little rebellion on the agreement after Mrs Takenaka's assassination, and also about the misunderstanding on the nature of his relationship with the kid. Nothing was left aside, the dinner with his brothers and any interactions he’s had with them were accounted for.

As he talked, Kikyo seemed to slowly get a hold of her emotions, drying her tears and assuming a more respectful pose beside her husband. Silva, as his son knew he would, was pleased to hear his children were getting along and visiting each other more often. The mood soon became lighter.

“But surely you know that's passed time you two kill this man and his wife so you can keep the girl.” The mother pointed out, now completely over the hysterical behavior from before. “Now that you regained Killua’s trust, we have to make sure you don't disappoint him, dear.”

“Exactly what I thought, but Hisoka talked me out of it. He says that we couldn’t possibly raise a child whose parents we’ve killed.”

“Not something I enjoy saying, but I agree with Hisoka. That's a little too extreme and not at all a smart move. I'm sure there are other ways we can go around this.” Silva was as reasonable as always. 

“That's why I have more news to share.” He waited a bit, to prepare, after all it was big news and not one that he would give many times in life. “Me and Hisoka are actually adopting a child.”

His parents went quiet and it made him feel insecure. “We already went to an orphanage, now it's just a matter of time.”

Silva uncomfortably shifted on the couch. “How exactly do you intend to explain to your brother the fact that you introduced him to one child but will be raising another?”

“Oh, that's perfect, my dear! You are, after all, my most talented son.” Kikyo stood up and went to hug her child. “And I couldn't be happier. You're gonna be a great father, you have always been so responsible and loving.”

“Am I losing something?”

“Oh, dear husband, Kalluto told us. He said we didn't know about the girl because it could still be revoked. It's obviously what they gonna use, right, son? Killua hasn't had the time to bond with this girl, so it doesn't matter which child it will be. And he'll sure get even closer to his aniki if he thinks he went through something as bad as losing a child he was already living with.” She talked fast, clenching Illumi's arms and cheeks as if he was a fat cute child. “All they gotta do is to kill the girl too, to get rid of any possibility of error. Oh, son, you make me so proud.”

Of course his mother was right, but, until that very moment, it hadn't occurred to the assassin that his whole plan of keeping training Minke was just not possible. Letting her live was just too dangerous and keeping her around would basically be asking for his brother to find the truth. He would have to kill her in the end. 

He heard father saying something about this being a big decision, asking if he was sure that pleasing Killua was a good enough reason for adopting a child. Thankfully, his mother excitedly defended the idea, keeping the man busy while Illumi dealt with the feeling rising up in his chest. 

He didn't want to. She was too good to die. Surely that was understandable. He was raised to recognize potential and she had it all. Some kids, like Killua, had the power, but lacked the will. Some, like Kalluto, had the discipline but lacked the strength. Minke had everything to succeed. Was she born in his family, she would be just like himself. Was she his daughter, he would be proud. He shook these thoughts away. 

“Father, since we're at it, I thought it might be appropriate, if you agree, to put Moto on the Schiavone job?” His father seemed slightly confused. “Well, he's more disposable than our trained butlers and I see now that is almost time for me to stop fooling around with this family and put an end to it. We can use him for that while I prepare things for the new kid and then I'll kill them.”

“I understand the logic behind not using a butler just for that, but are you sure we can trust his abilities? I do need him to keep her safe for a while.” It didn't scape Silva that the girl's father was the same man Illumi had asked him to get out of jail not two days ago. While he was not against his son finally showing interesting in having a little bit of fun in this life, he strongly doubted this man's capabilities. 

“Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, he's clearly stupid when it comes to go against the law, but as a bodyguard he seems to be pretty successful. By what I gathered, he started as part of a temporary team protecting a politician during campaign. It was his only job before joining our former client's team. He worked so well that the politician only gave him up after being bribed by the other. He was placed on some interesting jobs, including the one that caused us to meet. I have a strong hold on his actions because of my relationship with his family and, in the end of the day, he did manage to delay one of my missions.”

“If you say so, I believe you. But how will that contribute to your game?”

“Oh, he's gonna be aware that he must protect her from anyone else, but when the sign comes he must kill her. Knowing that telling her would be the death of his own family. He's too much of a good person, I can only imagine his struggle.”

“That's fine by me. But Illumi, make sure that this man kill her in the right moment, it is crucial.”

“Enough of business you two.” Kikyo held them both by the hand, taking them to sit near a table she had gotten prepared for tea. “Sit here and tell me all about the adoption. What institution is it? Have you seen any kid yet? You don't need to wait for anything, me and your dad can…”

Illumi and his father shared a understanding glance and a smile. Mom would be talking for quite a long time.

 

\-----

 

“What doesn’t make sense is why he’s suddenly dealing with this kind of people.” Lexia had her head rested on Hisoka’s legs, while his pink claws played with her hair.

“It must be the payment, hun. ♦”

“But if it is, he’s not bringing that home. I mean, not more than he used to.” She raised herself, turning to sit next to the clown. “Do you think he has someone else he sends the money to? Like another family or…”

“I think he’s overcoming his fears and opening himself to a new kind of market. He’ll bring the money home once he learns how to get away with these things. Not to be rude, but he’s not the best at not being caught. ♣”

“Ok, but drugs? I expected more.” They both laughed. “He’s coming home tomorrow, it was not that big of a deal. Name stained, a couple of pictures, he’ll get over it if he stops.”

“And now he’s, like, a bad boy. Who doesn’t love a bad boy at home?♠”

“Shut up” She pushed him. “I love him exactly for the opposite. He’s prudent, he won’t be out there doing adventurous things that could take him away from me. He’s sweet and gentle and wants to get old with me. I don’t want a bad boy, Hisoka.”

The clown rolled his eyes, stopping when he was pushed again. “I mean, I respect all kinds of love, so good for you. ♦”

“I don’t wanna talk about him anymore, that’s all I’ve been thinking about.”

“I actually have something to tell you. ♣” He shifted himself, crossing his legs on the couch. “We’re adopting a child. ♠”

“Oh, I can’t believe it! Hisoka, that’s amazing! When did that happen? I’m so sorry, I’ve been so busy talking about me, so rude…”

He gestured her to stop apologizing. “Remember that dinner we took Minke with us? Illu came home all changed and wanting a family of his own. It was nice. ♦”

“I’m so happy for you. You wanted it so much!” She hugged him.

“... yeah… It’s cool, right? ♣”

“Just awesome! Did you guys started the process already?”

“Yup, a boy is coming to visit us this weekend. ♠”

“What? How come it was so fast?”

“Being a Hunter has its benefits. ♦”

“Good for you! I'm glad Illu's profession wasn't a problem either.”

“It would have been if we had told them, but gladly our licenses were enough, and we didn't go into details ’for the sake of the association’, as we told them. ♣”

“Oh my, didn't they recognize the last name?”

“Not at all. Zoldycks seem famous, but I would say it's only amongst dangerous people. ♠” A playful grin showed up on the clown's face,causing the woman to laugh. 

“Yeah, sure. Minke knows?”

“Not yet. I don't know how to bring it up. I think it might get her jealous. ♦”

“It's so weird that you're right! My girl was always so detached of everyone else, and now I really think she might throw some kind of jealousy tantrum. What have you done to her?”

“We showed Minke there's more people like her in the world. You might not like it, Lexia, but she's not a good girl. You know that, right? ♣”

The smile disappeared from the woman's face. “I know. I try not to worry too much about it. Just because she's different, it doesn't mean she has to become some kind of…”

“Monster? ♠”

“Yeah. I understand Moto's concerns, but we can teach her the right ways, we can make sure she cares for people's feelings and lives. We can-”

“You could, but right now you're letting her spend lots of time with the worst type of people for that. I would be pleased if Minke turned out to be a psycho of some sort. ♦”

Lexia was concerned, her eyes examining the peculiar figure that was this man, so sweet and yet visibly dangerous. She knew it was stupid to allow her daughter to be so near him, but at the same time the girl was so much happier now. And the woman herself liked Hisoka, he was fun and made her laugh all the time. He would hear her worries and rants repeatedly and be painfully honest at the end. He was a great friend. 

“I think, Hisoka, it's for the best that you guys are adopting a child and that this will probably make her mad. Her dad is back home now and, though he didn't complain, it must make him very uncomfortable to see his daughter around people like you.”

“Ouch. ♣” 

She sighed a bitter laugh. “Peter… Do you think she killed him?”

“She told me so, yes. ♠” Hisoka would have talked more, but he saw Lexia hiding her face with an arm as tears ran down her cheeks. He held her instead.

The mother buried her face on his chest, sobbing like a child, shaking. She tried to talk a couple of times, but ended up beaten by the tears. The clown stroke her hair till the worst sobs were gone. “I assume you're not allowing her to see us anymore? ♦”

“I guess that's what I should do… but what would it change? Peter was before you and your husband, he was the reason I was so glad she liked you…”

“Well, in some way, he was actually the reason she liked us. ♦” He felt a punch right on his stomach, to which he responded only with a groan. “She needed someone to tell about it, darling, you cannot disagree with me there. ♣”

Lexia got away from the man's hold. “And I gave her. I gave her just the right people to encourage this type of behaviour.”

“You did, which makes you a great mom in my point of view. ♠”

“Oh great, thanks.”

“She would've get to those like her sooner or later. Stop blaming yourself, you didn't do anything wrong. ♦”

“I must have… The boy, where did she hide him?”

“So you can calm your guilty mind by telling the police and fucking up a perfect good fruit? I'll never tell you. ♣”

Hisoka kept the same playful, creepy smile he always had, which, since this was a very serious moment for Lexia, made her feel quite uneasy. “Would you stop that?”

“No. Don't be rude, I don't like it. ♠” The clown got to his feet, offering a hand to her. He got the woman to her bed, pulling the covers over her. “It's late, I better go home. But don't you worry, she's gonna be fine. I'm gonna take good care of her. You sleep now. ♦” 

The girl wasn't home, he knew, he felt her leaving, probably to go to that dreadful place she stores her puppets in. Hisoka walked into her room on his way out anyway. He left her a joker card and a bungee gum pack, just so she knew he'd been there, just so she knew he cared.  
♥

 

\---


End file.
